Red Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller

1846

Not on view

Zhong Kui, known in Japan as Shōki, was a scholar of early seventh-century China. Cheated out of the first rank in civil service examinations, he died by suicide but was buried with honors after the emperor heard of his tragic death. In gratitude, Shōki appeared to a subsequent Chinese emperor in a dream as an exorcist who vowed to quell demons and banish disease.

In Japan, auspicious images of Shōki were displayed for Boys’ Day, a spring festival celebrating children’s health. In this work made by Katsushika Hokusai at the age of eighty-seven, the artist painted Zhong Kui in red, a color thought to have magical efficacy in warding off smallpox.

Artwork Details

葛飾北斎筆　朱鐘馗図
Title: Red Zhong Kui, the Demon Queller
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo))
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1846
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions: Image: 23 1/4 × 11 7/8 in. (59.1 × 30.2 cm)
Overall with mounting: 61 × 19 1/2 in. (154.9 × 49.6 cm)
Overall with knobs: 61 × 21 5/16 in. (154.9 × 54.1 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Object Number: 14.76.37
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Katsushika Hokusai

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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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
ca. 1830–32

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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