I Think I Might Be Obsessed With Kusozu, Japanese Watercolor Paintings That Graphically Depict Human

I think I might be obsessed with kusozu, Japanese watercolor paintings that graphically depict human decomposition, which were popular between the 13th and 19th centuries.  Body of a Courtesan in Nine Stages is another series in this genre featured previously on this site.  Kusozu works of art were inspired by Buddhist beliefs and these paintings were meant to encourage people to ponder the temporary nature of the physical world.  Kusozu watercolors also happen to be fantastic early studies of human decay and taphonomy, which is why they are currently on display as part of the Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime exhibit in London.

The above panels are part of a series titled Kusozu: the death of a noble lady and the decay of her body. They illustrate nine stages of decay that include: (1) the woman’s impending death and her preparation for it; (2) the noble woman has just passed away and her loved ones are seated around her; (3) slight skin discoloration (maybe some liver mortis) and a bit of bloating of during early decomposition; (4) the onset of putrefaction with bloating and marbling; (5) advanced decomposition as seen by pervasive marbling, leakage of purge fluid from the mouth, and the abdominal cavity has burst open (6) caving of abdominal cavity and scavenging animals; (7) start of skeletonization and the disappearance of soft tissue; (8) complete skeletonization and scattering of remains; (9) finally human remains have been completely scattered or consumed by unseen animals so all that remains is a memorial for the deceased woman.

All images are from the Wellcome Collection

Artist: Attributed to Torii Kiyomitsu (1735–1785), Title: Amagoi Komachi (Komachi Praying for Rain) Date:ca. 1765

This print is a parody of the Kabuki play Komachi Praying for Rain, which is based on the legend of Ono no Komachi, the beautiful poetess of the ninth century. She put a card on which she had written a poem into a miniature boat and released it into a pond to pray for rain at the imperial garden. Thanks to the power of her poetry, the rain started and continued for three days. Although there is no artist’s signature, the print has been attributed to Torii Kiyomitsu, the third master of the Torii school and the teacher of Kiyonaga.

it really hurts me to see so many gazans asking us for help, though that's through no fault of their own. they've been forced to use a social media site that they're probably not familiar with (because tumblr has kind of faded out of popular consciousness), to interact with us in a second language, to distinguish themselves from the scammers who are taking advantage of genocide, and to ask strangers for help. i don't think there are any cultures where it's easy to ask for help like this, but i'm intimately familiar with how humiliating it can be in arab culture. please be kind, gracious and helpful to the gazans in your inbox. this is a desperate time for them, and in addition to the physical danger inflicted by "israel", the prices of basic resources in gaza are extremely high due to scarcity, and those that manage to escape to egypt are financially exploited by landlords there and have an extremely difficult time finding work due to their unofficial status as refugees. these families will continue to need our help and i hope we can all continue to provide it to the best of our ability.

These guys are on their way to me at last! :D It caused me a little stress because my bank handles transactions in a STUPID way and will reject an amount that's over the daily transaction limit even if the amount is in yen instead of USD. If you run into this problem, know that PayPal converts the amount before it asks for the payment from whatever source you have linked.

Also, DHL shipping to the US on AmiAmi is both faster and a little cheaper than whatever is selected by default!

Ito Takashi (Japanese, 1894-1982) - Charcoal-Making at Towadako