對於地獄變屏風的由來及完成- 崛川( horikawa ) 邑主為何命令良秀(yoshihide)畫地獄變?為何良秀目睹女兒燒死的喜悅等問題,先行研究有諸多之解釋。然筆者認為故事中的「虛/實」、「表/裡」敘述,鋪陳了整個作品。從屏風畫的空間構圖,與良秀與邑主對良秀之女主權之爭,兩者可探出:一、愛女深切的良秀企圖以「華貴的嬪妃」改變身為「宮女」的女兒之命運,卻反使女兒被殺害。二、崛川邑主藉良秀藝術之筆殺了良秀之女,瓦解良秀救女的念頭,藝術之筆變成犯罪之筆,但也成了紀錄犯罪之筆;良秀留下「藝術之最」、「藝術之罪」的屏風畫。三、用途原是裝飾或是遮住不讓人看到內幕的屏風,其正中間因畫下肢解女性「空有」之罪特寫,其屏風的空間不再是單純的「虛幻」藝術空間,而是支解女性的「真實」記錄,這正是諷刺「君權」下的藝術品,。四、良秀筆下「表面」上「醜惡的東西」源自人性「裏」之惡,因為「地獄變」屏風極致的藝術,才能表現出藝術之美與人性之惡的「表裡一體」,也就是「藝術中的醜惡之美」,以及現實與夢幻的「虛/實」之美。
Why does Lord Horikawa made Yoshihide draw jigoku? Antecednet studies have had discussions on the origin and evolution of it and Yoshihide's ecstasy of witnessing burning her daughter. This study tries to explain the work in terms of the ”hollowness” vs. ”realness” and ”surface” vs. ”internality”. In the composition of jigokuhen, and the competition between Lord Horikawa and Yoshihide on Yoshihide's daughter, we can get the following explanations. 1. Yoshihide's intention to change the fate of his daughter as a ”maid” into a ”noble concubine” lead to the slaughter of his daughter. 2. Lord Horikawa shattered Yoshihide's thought to save his daughter with his ”pen of art”, which later became ”pen of crime”. Yoshihide left jigokuhen as ”the ultimate art” as well as ”crime of art”. 3. A screen originally made to keep people from seeing the inside was no more an ”illusory” art form but a ”real” art because of the drawing of a woman's ”illusory sin”. This is an ironic art work of ”monarchial power”. 4.The ”superficial ugly stuff” in Yoshihide's drawing originated from the evil of human ”internality” while only jigokuhen, the ultimate art performance of screens, can present the beauty of art and evil of human in one, which is the beauty of ugliness, and the beauty between ”illusion” and ”realness” in art.