Daikyō Goaku Zue (Illustrated Manual of the Five Great Evils) – Middle Volume
Late Edo period, Kōka–Kaei era, mid-19th century (c. 1844–1854)
 
An illustrated Buddhist hell book from the late Edo period, produced during the Kōka–Kaei era, a time marked by heightened religious publishing and moral instruction aimed at the general populace.  This work belongs to the long tradition of Jigoku-e (hell imagery), which used graphic visual narratives to convey Buddhist teachings on karma, sin, and retribution.
 
The illustrations were executed by Kanehiko Hatta, an ukiyo-e–trained artist active in the mid-19th century.  Rather than a commercial pleasure book, Daikyō Goaku Zue was conceived as a didactic religious work, intended to instruct lay audiences through vivid and often unsettling imagery.
 
The book illustrates the “Five Great Evils” described in Buddhist sutras, depicting scenes of judgment before Enma (King of Hell), demonic tortures, sinners undergoing punishment, and the karmic consequences of immoral behavior.  The stark black-and-white woodblock prints emphasize clarity and narrative force over decorative refinement, consistent with Buddhist instructional publications of the period.
 
Originally issued as part of a multi-volume set, this example represents the middle volume (chūkan).  
 
A strong and evocative example of late Edo Buddhist visual culture, bridging religious doctrine, popular illustration, and the enduring Japanese fascination - if not, all of mankind's fascination - with hell imagery.
 
Condition: Shows some signs of wear, soiling, few scattered stain marks and smudging on some artwork, notably the faces.  Please see and judge from photos.
 
Size of woodblock print picture book closed:  22.5 cm x 15.8 cm.  Approximately 14 woodblock print picture pages in all.  The remaining pages in the books are kanji text pages.  There are numerous scenes of demons and devils torturing the damned. 
 
To see other great monster-themed artwork we have in store, please click here.