Gasha dokuro is a yokai / monster in Japan.
It is a giant skeleton made up of bones and grudge of people who died in wars, starvation or who are unburied.
It is said that Gasha dokuro walks around with chattering sound at night and if it sees someone, it will crush and eat him/her.
Ukiyoe artist Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1798-1861) first made an image for a story where he made one giant skeleton to represent great numbers of life size skeletons.
His anatomically correct skeleton based on European medical books made a significant impact at the time, it's become one of his masterpieces.
The story wasn't about Gasha dokuro but his image created a strong direction for artists to create contemporary images of this yokai, including this version.
This print was made for La Calaca International Print Exchange.
Theme is Calacas, Day of the Dead! Our monster will travel to the US this week!
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