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“A Courtesan as the Immortal Tieguai [Tekkai]”

Okumura Masanobu Japanese

ca. 1710

Not on view

This hand-colored print is from a series of twelve showing parodies of courtesans in settings and poses that call to mind stories from ancient Chinese lore. Here, a woman is presented as Tekkai (Chinese: [Li] Tieguai), who was reputed to be able to leave his own body for extended periods. The courtesan magically exhales her spirit in the manner ascribed to Tekkai, creating a dreamlike apparition of herself strolling outside.

On view from March 8, 2021–May 31, 2021

“A Courtesan as the Immortal Tieguai [Tekkai]”, Okumura Masanobu (Japanese, 1686–1764), Woodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink and hand-applied color on paper; horizontal ōban, Japan — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

奥村政信画　「遊君鉄拐仙人（てっかいせんにん）」

Title: “A Courtesan as the Immortal Tieguai [Tekkai]”

Artist: Okumura Masanobu (Japanese, 1686–1764)

Period: Edo period (1615–1868)

Date: ca. 1710

Culture: Japan

Medium: Woodblock print (sumizuri-e); ink and hand-applied color on paper; horizontal ōban

Dimensions: Image: 10 3/8 × 14 3/4 in. (26.4 × 37.5 cm)
Frame: 16 1/4 × 20 3/4 in. (41.3 × 52.7 cm)

Classification: Prints

Credit Line: Promised Gift of Lee E. Dirks

The Met

Asian Art at The Met

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world.