"The Ghost of Kohada Koheiji" (1831-1832) by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)

Image by Laku Woodblock print. Dimensions: 26.5cm x 18.9cm

Koheiji Kohada is an actor, believed to have lived in Edo. It is said that Koheiji's wife had an affair and conspired and killed him with her boyfriend. Koheiji then became a ghost and haunted them, killing his ex-wife, which made her lover mentally unstable and kill himself. This story was later written as a novel by Santo Kyoden in 1807, also made to be several Kabuki plays including the one by Tsuriya Nanboku in 1808, the other by Suzuki Senzaburo in 1925. This Yurei-zu depicts a ghost with human hair and eyes, which is specific to the Japanese understanding of Yurei and Reikons. These creatures carry the traits of their human life since their souls are corrupt and have not left this world completely.

https://collections.artsmia.org/art/65734/the-ghost-of-kohada-koheiji-katsushika-hokusai