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Between and Mortarboard

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37 Items in this Learning Collection
Island of Kyushu, Japan, from "The Creation"

Collection Object
thinkjapan
Image of stacked purple blocks outlined in red atop a red frog and the text "thinkjapan" in red and white.
Collection Object
Japan
Gold deer beneath the text "JAPAN" on an orange background.
Collection Object
Kagoshima Senki [Records of the Battle of Kagoshima]; middle page of triptych

Collection Object
Kagoshima Senki [Records of the Battle of Kagoshima]; left page of triptych

Collection Object
Arhat with Reliquary, (one of a pair)
Long hanging scroll with printed gold and blue cloth on either side of the image. Image depicts an aged man sitting on a rock holding a relic in his right hand. A halo sits around his head. Above and behind him are waves and more rocks, suggesting he is seated on a rocky outcropping near a mass of water. The colors are heavily faded, though the robe around the man is primarily gold, with green and red accenting.
Collection Object
Arhat Meditating in a Cave (one of a pair)
Long hanging scroll with gold and blue-green fabric surrounding the image. The image depicts a man seated in a rock cave. There is a ring around his head, and above that is smoke. A pair of red and black sandles are seen in the lower right corner of the image. The man is seated with his hands crossed and is sitting atop what appears to be straw. His robe is a faded yellow-brown with green accenting, and a piece of red along the chest. The robe covers the top of his head.
Collection Object
Sino-Japanese War Scene (Oban Triptych)
Middle panel of a triptych. The image is of two soldiers firing a cannon among trees. The soldiers are surrounded by smoke and there is a Japanese flag in the upper left corner.
Collection Object
Ceramic Sculpture
It is a long, rectangular unglazed ceramic piece, intended to be shown in horizontal position. Two thick slabs are connected with bridges inside. The front part has almost flat surface; there is a deep cut on the left side, in which mass of worm-like inner surface can be seen. The same surface is revealed in the middle, as well as on the right edge. The top of the slab has a several shallow holes and one deep cut, inside of which has worm-like surface, as explained above. There is also a dent on the top and on the right, from which worm-like mass seems to be coming out. Reddish shadows cast on left side, in the middle, and the right. There is a patch of clay on left side near the left cut. The bottom is flat.
Collection Object
Fall Play: Moon Over the Musashino Plain: Sawamura Sōjūrō III as Inanoya Hanjūrō and Segawa Kikunojō III as Koina
A man and woman gaze at each other in this print.  The woman wears a yellow robe with a red sash and white head cover.  The man wears a blue and white coat with geometric patterns over a red robe.  At the top is a cartouche with calligraphy.<br />  <br /> Inscriptions: Artist's signature: Toyokuni ga; Publisher's seal: Mori
Collection Object
Segawa Kikunojô [V] as a courtesan, on a veranda (overlooking the Benten Shrine in Ueno?); role name cropped

Collection Object
Segawa Kikunojô [V] as a woman warrior, carrying a chest and with drawn sword

Collection Object
Sino-Japanese War Scene (Oban Triptych)
Left panel of a triptych. The image on this panel is of a tree crossing from the lower left corner to the upper right. In the bottom right corner are red smoke and fire, a British flag, and Japanese text. The tree and sky are different shades of grey.&nbsp;
Collection Object
Sino-Japanese War Scene (Oban Triptych)
Right panel of a triptych. There are four soldiers, one of whom is firing an automatic weapon. They are standing among trees with a brown horse in the background. On the left of the panel is Japanese text.
Collection Object
Kozan-ji Makimono: Scroll with Animal Caricatures (Hares and Frogs) [facsimile]
This handscroll is a facsimile of the twelfth or thirteenth century Frolicking Animals Scroll (Chōjū jinbutsu giga) that depicts anthropomorphic monkeys, frogs, foxes and rabbits in various scenes. The scroll is painted in monochromatic ink with lively brushwork. The scroll contains no written text, and the discrete scenes of the scroll are separated by short stretches of landscape. The scroll appears to narrate the events of a festival held by various animals, culminating in a Buddhist ceremony. The scroll begins with a scene of rabbits and monkeys ritually washing themselves in a river. The next scene shows frogs and rabbits engaged in an archery competition. Frogs, foxes and rabbits watch as a rabbit nocks an arrow and takes aim at the target made of a large lotus leaf. Behind the figure, a group of rabbit teammates look on with excitement, while the frogs seem dismayed at the rabbit&rsquo;s apparent skill. The next scene depicts rabbits, frogs and a fox dressed in robes bringing storage boxes out towards
Collection Object
Crossing Swords in the Pleasure Quarters: Ichikawa Danjūrō IX as Fuwa Banzaemon
A man holds an unsheathed sword up by his shoulder with both hands. Another sword is visible at his waist, and the tip of a third sword is visible from off the print on the left side. The man wears a black robe with red geometric print and swirls of clouds around a yellow and red crest. The background is plain.<br /><br /> This is the right panel of a triptych (with 2008/2.10A and 2008/2.10B).
Collection Object
Crossing Swords in the Pleasure Quarters: Nakamura Fukusuke IV (Nakamura Utaemon V) as a Maid
A woman is hunched over, her right hand on her lower back, and her left hand holding onto the top of a spool. She wears a pale striped robe over a layer of purple floral and red with a black sash around her waist. The bright blue robe of another person off the print is visible at the right edge.<br /><br /> This is the left panel of a triptych (with 2008/2.10B and 2008/2.10C).<br /><br /> Inscriptions: Toyohara Kunichika hitsu (Artist's signature); Meiji 31 nen 10 gatsu 15 nichi insatsu dōgatsu 20 nichi hakko<br /><br />  
Collection Object
Crossing Swords in the Pleasure Quarters: Onoe Kikugorō V as Nagoya Sanza
A man holds a sword in both hands in front of him. He wears a bright blue robe with red and yellow birds. The background is plain with lines of calligraphy along the top.<br /><br /> This is the center panel of a triptych (with 2008/2.10A and 2008/2.10C).
Collection Object
Scene from the Ramayana (?)

Collection Object
Lord Jaganatha with his brother Balarama and sister Subhadra
This image has three large figures sitting in a row. The two slightly larger figures (one with a white face; left and the other with a black face; right) flank a smaller yellow faced figure. Painted in a distinct blue-background strip beneath these large figures are several smaller figures. Next to three of these figures are trays holding food.
Collection Object
Iwai Hanshirō IV as an Onnadate
A woman with a sword looks back to her left. Her right hand is hidden by her long sleeve, just above the sword handle. Her blue outer robe is partially removed and reveals a patterned red and blue robe beneath. The bottom of the outer robe has a spray of flowers, and a crest adorns the left sleeve. A lantern lights up the stage behind her.<br /><br /> Unidentified inscriptions.
Collection Object
Girl (D)
This woodcut has an image of a girl, from about mid-torso, looking over her shoulder from behind. She has short hair and faces off to the right of the page. On off-white paper, the print uses two color blocks: black graphic on red background. The print is signed (l.l.) "Kiyoshi Saitô" in white ink, and titled, numbered and dated in pencil (l.c.) "GIRL (D)  33/100  1967".
Collection Object
Clutch Handbag
Rectangular in shape, gold shiny fabric with three figures amongst clouds.
Collection Object
Plaque with Elderly Hermit

Collection Object
Untitled
A woman in traditional Japanese dress, looking out of a window. She is wearing an understated pink kimono.
Collection Object
Solitude

Collection Object
Girl with Cigarette

Collection Object
Nociceptor-Heart Sutra
Abstract sculpture in white with red on three ends, with a pattern of small raised bumps covering the entirity of the piece and creating a rough texture. The sculpture is formed with two ball shaped figures on top and two long curves on bottom.
Collection Object
Kimono
<p>Splotchy mixed brown silk kimono with miniscule white dots (Sᾱme komon) with a white and pale salmon inner lining</p>
Collection Object
Plate Inscribed with Flying Figure of Hanuman Holding a Flag, Mace and Spear
Hanuman is depicted with a human body and a monkey head. The image is incised on the plate and his body is entirely textured with characters in the devanagari script. Often merely the letter ‘r’ designating the god Rama with whom he is associated. He is in a striding posture and there are a number of sections of text scattered around the image. At his feet is a human figure walking in the opposite direction. He holds a double flag consisting of two triangular shapes facing him in his left hand along with a thin club. One appears to emanating from his mouth? His right hand is lifted with an arrow above it and his tail curves behind him. There is also a small altar depicting the two feet of Rama in the area between his outstretched leg and the end of a scarf wrapped around his body.<br />
Collection Object
Durga Copper Plate
An eight armed goddess sits astride a tiger with uplifted tail. She carries a noose, punch dagger, shankha, and trident in her right hands and a bow, ring-like discus, arrow and shield in her left arms. She wears a long garland of either large rudraksa or heads around her heck along with other necklaces and pendants. She sits with legs pendant wearing a long skirt. Behind the figure a Om symbol with the end of the letter twirled around it twice and the word Shri written in Devanagari script. Below the figure a grid of letters forms a sacred diagram. The lines forming the grid all end in trident forms. Each square of the grid houses a different letter in nagari.<br />
Collection Object
Durga copper plate with mystic design
A ten-armed figure sits with her legs tucked under her on a tiger with a long uplifted tail. The figure is incised onto the copper plate with a chisel. One set of arms are crossed across her chest, while all but six hands hold weapons. A crossed spear and trident form an X behind the figure. She has wide bracelets at each of her wrists and wears elaborate circular earrings and nose ring with a three partite crown. Two lines in devanagari script are above the figure.<br />
Collection Object
Small Houses (Les Maisonnettes)

Collection Object
Jardin la nuit

Collection Object
Girl in Blue
Image of a woman wearing a mid-length form-fitting dress and sitting in a chair with a chrysanthemum at her shoulder. There is a &quot;HATAMEN&quot; cigarette pack in the image&#39;s bottom right.
Collection Object
“Heads should be bowed to him,” quotation from the Avalokitesvara Sutra
Long calligraphy hanging scroll with green colored backing. Calligraphy paper is faded. Black ink. Stamps in red in the top right corner and near the bottom on the left. A smaller font of calligraphy is set on the left side while the larger set of calligraphy takes up the center of the scroll.
Collection Object

Copyright
All Rights Reserved ()

“Heads should be bowed to him,” quotation from the Avalokitesvara Sutra

Accession Number
1999/1.105

Title
“Heads should be bowed to him,” quotation from the Avalokitesvara Sutra

Artist(s)
Yueshan Daozong (J. Etsuzan Dôshû; Ôbaku Etsuzan)

Object Creation Date
circa 1660-1709

Medium & Support
ink on paper

Dimensions
74 3/16 in. x 13 5/16 in. ( 188.5 cm x 33.8 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Marvin Eisenberg in tribute to Richard and Vee Tsung Ling Edwards

Label copy
Gallery Rotation Winter 2014
Yueshan Daozong (Ôbaku Etsuzan)
China, 1629–1709
“Heads should be bowed to him,” from the Avalokitesvara Sutra
Edo period (1615–1868)
circa 1660–1709
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Gift of Marvin Eisenberg in tribute to Richard and Vee Tsung Ling Edwards,
1999/1.105
Yueshan Daozong was renowned in his day as a calligrapher, regarded in traditional China as the highest of the arts because it was held to be the truest reflection of one’s character. To do calligraphy well required many years of disciplined practice and study of the great works of earlier masters. For Chinese and Japanese Zen monks, who absorbed much of Chinese literati (amateur scholar-artist) culture, calligraphy could thus be a form of self-portraiture. The disciples and lay followers of a prominent Zen teacher would request samples of his writing, and hanging scrolls with edifying phrases, such as this one, were produced by the thousands to satisfy the demand. A native of Fujian province in southeast China, Yueshan took full monastic vows at the age of twenty-two, eventually immigrating to Japan (where he was known as Etsuzan, the Japanese pronunciation of his name) and becoming the abbot of an important monastery. The phrase in this calligraphy is from the last section of the Buddhist scripture known as the Avalokitesvara Sutra:
Equipped with all blessings, Viewing all with compassionate eyes, His ocean of accumulated blessings is immeasurable. Heads should be bowed to him.

Subject matter
Translated as "Equipped with all blessings, Viewing all with compassionate eyes, His ocean of accumulated blessings is immeasurable. Heads should be bowed to him." from the Avalokitesvara Sutra. Avalokitesvara is one of the main bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism.

Physical Description
Long calligraphy hanging scroll with green colored backing. Calligraphy paper is faded. Black ink. Stamps in red in the top right corner and near the bottom on the left. A smaller font of calligraphy is set on the left side while the larger set of calligraphy takes up the center of the scroll.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
calligraphy

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Buddhism
Zen (Japanese Buddhism)
calligraphy (process)

2 Related Resources
Buddhism
(Part of 2 Learning Collections)
Japan Pax Tokugawa 1600-1868
(Part of: Empires and Colonialism)

& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved