Please visit Mr Osada Steve’s website to read the original article in English at

TokyoBound on this link. Enjoy!

Pictures from Hell

Ito Seiyu (1882-1961) has been pushing the envelope of kinbaku and torture Ukiyo-e imagery long before the “Golden Age” of SM magazines, getting some of his better work censored and banned by the authorities, earning him the label of “pervert”.

To help you better appreciate this series, first read the following notes on the kanji characters heading each picture and text:

Wood (木, ki), Fire (火, hi), Earth (土, tsuchi), Metal (金, kin), and Water (水, mizu) are the “five elements” called Wu Xing (五行) in Chinese. The concepts of Wu Xing can be found anywhere from acupuncture to feng shui (geomancy) to martial arts, and even apply to tea ceremony.

Sun (日, hi) and Moon (月, tsuki) plus the five Wu Xing elements also correspond to the days of the week.

There goes hardly a description of beauty that doesn’t include the combination of the three kanji characters for Snow (雪, yuki), Moon (月, tsuki), and Flower (花, hana). This combination even has its own name: setsu getsu ka (雪月花). Pls note that setsu is another reading for yuki (雪), getsu is another reading for tsuki (月), and ka is another reading for hana (花).

Now, let’s cut to the chase and enjoy the first installment.

Sun

Every village has its own laws. If strangers are caught stealing food, they will be exposed for three days at the village’s outskirts. Famished orphans sometimes wander into a village and take food without thinking. If they are caught, villagers will take the law into their own hands and render harsh punishment. It is the ultimate misery.

日 (hi)

村内の掟ありて野菜果実を盗む他村の者は之や捉へて三日間村端れに曝すといふ。行路の孤児餓えて無意識に之や盗み喰ふ。時に村人の発見する所となり掟以上の私刑を加へらる。慘の極なり。