
Since ancient times, the legend exists in Japan that demons and other supernatural beings parade through the streets at night until the light of the rising sun drives them off. The earliest illustrated handscroll on this theme dated to the early 14th century but is no longer existing. In the 16th century works developed that share a variety of pictorial motifs, presenting the demons as both grotesque and humorous. According to an accompanying note, this scroll was copied by the ukiyo-e artist Eigyō after a 12th-century work by the priest-painter Toba Sōjō.