Jittoku, Puppies, and Hotei
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.These three paintings are probably from a set of twelve once mounted on a pair of screens showing well-known Japanese and Chinese sages. The figure leaning on his staff is Hotei (Chinese: Budai), a Chinese Buddhist monk who was generally portrayed with a round belly, laughing or smiling, and carrying a bag containing his few possessions as he wanders the countryside. He became identified with the bodhisattva Maitreya and later was worshipped as a god of good fortune.
Carrying his broom, the other figure is Jittoku (Chinese: Shide), the constant companion of the eccentric poet Kanzan (Chinese: Hanshan), whose name literally means “Cold Mountain.” Kanzan, a foundling in the care of a Buddhist monastery where he swept the kitchen floor and did odd jobs, was brought left-over food from the kitchen by Jittoku, who came to be revered as a local manifestation of Fugen, the bodhisattva of compassionate wisdom.
The central painting, depicting three puppies and bamboo, was no doubt intended as a rebus for the Chinese character for “laughter” 笑, which is written with components that resemble the characters for bamboo 竹 and for dog 犬. Hotei, Kanzan, and Jittoku were all famous for liking to laugh.
Carrying his broom, the other figure is Jittoku (Chinese: Shide), the constant companion of the eccentric poet Kanzan (Chinese: Hanshan), whose name literally means “Cold Mountain.” Kanzan, a foundling in the care of a Buddhist monastery where he swept the kitchen floor and did odd jobs, was brought left-over food from the kitchen by Jittoku, who came to be revered as a local manifestation of Fugen, the bodhisattva of compassionate wisdom.
The central painting, depicting three puppies and bamboo, was no doubt intended as a rebus for the Chinese character for “laughter” 笑, which is written with components that resemble the characters for bamboo 竹 and for dog 犬. Hotei, Kanzan, and Jittoku were all famous for liking to laugh.
Artwork Details
- Title: Jittoku, Puppies, and Hotei
- Artist: Nagasawa Rosetsu (Japanese, 1754–1799)
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: ca. 1786–92
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Triptych of hanging scrolls; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image (each): 49 3/16 × 18 3/8 in. (125 × 46.6 cm)
Overall with mounting: 78 3/4 × 22 15/16 in. (200 × 58.3 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Lent by Feinberg Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art