雑司が谷鬼子母神の御会式は、享和・文化・文政の頃から日蓮上人の忌日（十月十三日）の頃に行われている伝統行事です。清方は大正2年（1913）秋から、東京近郊の中で「野趣のうちにも風雅あり」（「大正のあゆみ（一）」『續こしかたの記』）と評した雑司が谷に控家を借りていました。控家を引き払った後、本郷龍岡町から牛込矢来町に居を移した清方は、御会式の晩に雑司が谷の方角から聞こえてくる太鼓やお題目の音を耳にして、懐かしい思い出に浸ったと言います。
本作品ではススキの穂で作られた郷土玩具「すすきみみずく」を描いています。鬼子母神の参詣土産として江戸時代から伝わるもので、清方は「雅致愛すべきばかりでなく、よくこの鳥の習性を傳へてゐる」（同上）と述べています。

Memorial Service at Zōshigaya (ca. 1963)
pale color on paper; framed
39.0 x 23.2 cm
The Oeshiki memorial service at Kishimojin shrine in Zōshigaya is a traditional event that has been held on the thirteenth day of October, the date of Nichiren Shōnin’s death, since the early nineteenth century. In the autumn of 1913, Kiyokata rented a second house in Zōshigaya, a Tokyo neighborhood that he described as having “both rustic beauty and refinement” (“Taishō no ayumi I” [Footsteps in the Taisho Period I] Zoku Koshikata no ki [Thoughts on the past 2]). After vacating the second house, Kiyokata moved from Hongō-Tatsuokachō to Ushigome-Yaraichō, but he felt very nostalgic when he heard the sounds of drums and Nichiren Buddhist chants from the direction of Zōshigaya on the night of the Oeshiki service.
This painting depicts a susuki-mimizuku or owl-shaped doll made of silver-grass fronds. This type of doll dates back to the Edo period, when it was sold as a souvenir to visitors to Kishimojin shrine. Kiyokata remarks that “as well as being elegant and lovable, the doll expresses the habits of this bird well” (ibid).