Takiyasha the Witch and the Skeleton Spectre

Princess Takiyasha summons a monstrous skeleton to attack Oya no Taro Mitsukuni. The skeleton fills the right half of the triptych — but unlike traditional Japanese depictions of demon bones, every rib, joint and vertebra is correctly placed. Kuniyoshi had studied the Kaitai Shinsho, a 1774 Japanese translation of a Dutch anatomy text. The count is right: 12 pairs of ribs, correctly articulated scapulae, real joint anatomy. He gave the folktale a scientific skeleton. Now at Victoria and Albert Museum, London @vamuseum