Object Details
- Description
- Signature and three seals. Silk makimono.
- Signatures
- Hokusōō Itchō ga 北窓翁一蝶画
- Marks
- Artist's seal: Kochūten 壺中天 (?)
- Artist's seal: Hanabusa shi 英氏
- Artist's seal: Hanabusa shi 英氏
- Label
- In Zen (Chinese: Chan) Buddhism, the sages of Chinese legend-Kanzan (Chinese: Hanshan ) and the temple attendant Jittoku (Chinese: Shide)-became important exemplars of enlightenment in outwardly unconventional form. Here, in a scroll of humorous depictions of deities, sages, and immortals, the reclusive poet Hanshan playfully touches Shide's forehead with his calligraphy brush as Shide naps with his broom in hand.
- In the following scene to the left, a Chinese immortal both startles and delights a young boy by conjuring a hobby horse from a gourd. According to Chinese legend, this immortal had a magical white mule that he could fold up and insert into a gourd. When he needed his mule for travel, he could revive it to its original form by spritzing it with water. This amusing transformation of the familiar story employs a form of visual play on words and images known as mitate, a popular entertainment in the Edo period (1615-1868).
- Provenance
- To 1904
- Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), Kidderminster, England, to 1904 [1]
- From 1904 to 1919
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Michael Tomkinson in 1904 [2]
- From 1920
- Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
- Notes:
- [1] See Original Kakemono and Makimono List, L. 443, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
- [2] See note 1.
- [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Games, Contests and Artful Play in Japan (March 19 to October 23, 2005)
- Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) (C.L. Freer source)
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Artist
- Hanabusa Itcho 英一蝶 (1652-1724)
- Date
- late 17th-early 18th century
- Period
- Edo period
- Credit Line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Medium
- Ink and color on silk
- Dimensions
- H x W (painting): 25.3 × 342.6 cm (9 15/16 × 134 7/8 in)
- Type
- Painting
