Monk in a boat with haiku poem

Maker(s)
Artist: Ryuho (1599-1669)
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 17th century
Medium
Ink on paper with bone jiku
Dimensions
H x W (image): 31.6 x 50.1 cm (12 7/16 x 19 3/4 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Gift of The Daval Foundation through Mrs. William Leonhart
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1997.39
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll

Keywords
boat, Edo period (1615 - 1868), haiku, Japan, kakemono, monk
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

The artist Ryuho was one of the first to produce haiga, simple paintings inscribed with the brief, seventeen-syllable poems known as haiku (hokku). The image of a monk in a boat recalls the subject of Yentou, a ninth-century Zen Buddhist priest who withdrew from the persecution of Buddhism in the late Tang dynasty to live at Lake Dongting in Hunan, where he made his livelihood as a ferryman. He is said to have exchanged enigmatic questions and answers with his passengers.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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