Accession Number1948/1.169
TitleKôso goichidai ryakuzu: Nichiren Walking Barefoot in the Snow
Artist(s)Utagawa Kuniyoshi Artist NationalityJapanese (culture or style)Object Creation Date1835-1836Medium & Supportfull color woodblock print (nishiki e)Dimensions 8 3/4 in. x 13 5/8 in. ( 22.23 cm x 34.61 cm )
Credit LineBequest of Margaret Watson ParkerLabel copyUtagawa Kuniyoshi is best known to Western collectors for his dramatic renderings of legendary warriors, or for his humorous prints of cats. An exceptionally versatile and prolific artist, he also designed hundreds of landscape prints, offering serious competition to his contemporary, Hiroshige.
Here we have Kuniyoshi at his most lyrical. The tiny figure in red robes, struggling against the drifting snow, is the Buddhist monk Nichiren (1222–1282). An outspoken critic of church and state, he was forced to spend many years in exile on the island of Sado. Here even the forces of nature seem allied against him, as the cold wind whips through his cleric’s robes. The print is from a series illustrating Nichiren’s life
Exhibited in "Japanese Costumes & Ceramics, Past & Present," October 2001-February 2002. Maribeth Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art
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Keywords
snow
umbrella