Shunga Series - Rokuro kubi

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Rokuro kubi [ghost of pussy head]

A rather unusual mythological image.

The image below is from Kuniyoshi‘s very entertaining ‘Ghost Stories: Night Procession of the Hundred Demons’ that he designed around 1836.

Rokurokubi are a popular type of spirit in Japanese folk tales. They look almost completely like humans, with one major difference. There are two types of Rokurokubi: one can stretch their neck and the other is called nukekubi whose heads can come off and fly around freely. In this image the spirit is an actor with a vulva-shaped face who is changing clothes.