Free Shipping to U.S.A.

Katsushika Hokusai : “The Ghost of Oiwa” (1830)

Museum Quality Giclée on Fine Art Paper

  • Matte Finish does not pick up glare from interior lighting
  • Smooth Surface maximizes sharpness and preserves detail
  • Accent Borders display the artwork uncropped and ready to mat
  • In-house Printing assures artistic quality standards

Hokusai’s The Ghost of Oiwa depicts an episode from one of Japan’s most famous ghost stories, concerned with an unfaithful husband who murders his wife. The night before he is to marry another woman, her face appears upon his bedside lamp, hissing “betrayal!” The treacherous samurai strikes the lamp, which crashes to the floor. On the day of the wedding, the face superimposes itself upon those of his new wife and her grandfather, again hissing “betrayal,” so that he reflexively lashes out and decapitates both. The story ends with the murderer driven over the edge of a cliff by the laughing specter.

The print is one of Hokusai’s series One Hundred Ghost Stories, the title of which refers to a Japanese parlor game wherein a room was filled with one hundred andon (lamps or candles enclosed in paper) accompanied by a mirror resting on a small table. The participants, gathered separately, would take turns telling ghost stories. At the end of each tale the storyteller would enter the room, extinguish one of the andon, and look into the mirror before returning to the group. As the participants approached the one hundredth tale, the room would darken and they would grow ever more fearful of invoking the spirits. Though Hokusai and his publisher presumably envisioned one hundred prints, only five are known to have been produced.

Product Information

Expect crisp detail and vivid color from our giclée process fine art prints. We use archival pigment inks on cotton fiber paper to achieve a wide color gamut, deep blacks and beautiful tonal transitions. Unlike posters, they will not fade or yellow, but maintain their original quality for as long as you own them.

How to Frame

Historical artworks were produced in whatever shapes and sizes best suited the artists and their patrons, and these rarely correspond to the proportions of modern, mass-produced frames. Most reproductions sold on the web are cropped to an arbitrary standard, compromising the integrity of the original artwork. We solve this by using accent borders to make up any differences in proportion.

Framing may be as simple as inserting the print into a standard size frame with the borders showing. In many cases, our customers choose to have them matted. Borders allow space for framers to mount the print while covering little, if any, of the artwork. Our images are sized to provide desirable mat widths in common frames.

Sizes 9” x 12”, 12” x 16”, and 16” x 20” are designed to be matted in larger frames, such as 11” x 14”, 16” x 20” and 20” x 24”, respectively. Larger prints may be matted in frames of equal size, the borders corresponding to the shape of the mat. Where the artwork is unusually square or narrow, other sizes may be preferred.

If our sizing does not meet your requirements, we provide customization free of charge. Please contact us to discuss the details.

Shipping and Returns

All orders ship within one business day. The following services are available at checkout:

United States
 
Shipping Class Price Estimated Delivery Window
USPS First Class Parcel Free 3 – 5 business days
USPS Priority Mail $3.99 2 – 4 business days
USPS Priority Mail Express $29.99 1 – 3 days, guaranteed
Canada *
 
Shipping Class Price Estimated Delivery Window
USPS First Class International $11.99 1 – 3 weeks
USPS Priority Mail Express $56.99 3 – 5 business days
International, Excluding Canada *
 
Shipping Class Price Estimated Delivery Window
USPS First Class International $17.99 1 – 4 weeks
USPS Priority Mail Express $62.99 3 – 5 business days

* International orders may be subject to import taxes at time of delivery.

Returns Policy

If you are unhappy with your order for any reason, you are welcome to return it within 60 days for a full refund. Please contact us and return your item(s) to: The Ibis 809 Grant Street Endicott, NY 13760

Your return will be processed on receipt.
Scroll to Top