Buddha’s Hand Citron (Busshukan)

Formerly attributed to Katsushika Hokusai Japanese

mid-19th century

Not on view

This meticulously rendered painting of an unusually shaped variety of citron, whose fruit is segmented into fingerlike sections, shows the influence of Western botanical studies. In Japanese, this exotic fruit is called busshukan 仏手柑, literally "Buddha’s Hand Citron." Native to the Himalayas, the subject was appreciated by Bunjin (literati) painters, and is the subject of a poem in Chinese “Koto and Buddha’s Hand in Springtime” by renowned historian, poet, and calligrapher Rai San’y (1780–1832).

The painting does not seem to have any connection to Katsushika Hokusai except that it has a seal, rendered in cursive characters and kana that have been deciphered as Katsushika 葛しか. But since the shapes of the characters vary a bit from accepted variants, we can assume the seal was added a later time by a dealer who wanted give added luster to an anonymous painting.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

References

仏手柑図
Title: Buddha’s Hand Citron (Busshukan)
Artist: Formerly attributed to Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo))
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: mid-19th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Matted painting; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: 13 1/2 x 9 5/8 in. (34.3 x 24.4 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number: 29.100.536
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Katsushika Hokusai

In the same medium

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Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Okazaki Yahagi no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Okazaki Yahagi no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1834

The Suspension Bridge on the Border of Hida and Etchū Provinces (Hietsu no sakai tsuribashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Suspension Bridge on the Border of Hida and Etchū Provinces (Hietsu no sakai tsuribashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830

Cherry Blossoms at Yoshino (Yoshino), from the series Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Cherry Blossoms at Yoshino (Yoshino), from the series Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1833

Nakahara in Sagami Province (Sōshū Nakahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Nakahara in Sagami Province (Sōshū Nakahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Katsushika Hokusai
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The Hanging-cloud Bridge at Mount Gyōdō near Ashikaga (Ashikaga Gyōdōzan kumo no kakehashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Hanging-cloud Bridge at Mount Gyōdō near Ashikaga (Ashikaga Gyōdōzan kumo no kakehashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830

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