May: Shoki the Demon Queller Riding on a Tiger, Subjugating Goblins, from the series "Of the Twelve Months: the Fifth (Junikagetsu no uchi: gogatsu)"

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The tiger clutches one ferocious goblin in his jaws while Shōki’s sword subdues the others. “May” is printed in English on the right edge of the design, perhaps in an effort to make the print seem more fashionable at a moment when Western influence in Japan was growing. Images of Shōki are often hung to celebrate the Boys’ Day festival, which takes place in May.

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