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Courtesan as Daruma

Painting attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu Japanese
Inscription by Shokusanjin (Ōta Nanpo) Japanese
ca. 1800; inscription ca. 1810
Not on view
Though a painting of a young woman, the red cape and cowl are associated with traditional imagery of Daruma (Bodhidharma), the legendary monk who traveled from India to China to establish Chan (Zen) Buddhism, who is often depicted in similar garb. The painting here, unsigned but most likely by Toyoharu based on stylistic considerations, is intended as a parodic depiction of a Yoshiwara courtesan. The poem by Shokusanjin plays on Buddhist phrases related to the Daruma’s nine years of zazen meditation in a cave to connote a drinking party.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 伝歌川豊春筆　蜀山人（太田南畝）賛　女達磨図
  • Title: Courtesan as Daruma
  • Artist: Painting attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu (Japanese, 1735–1814)
  • Artist: Inscription by Shokusanjin (Ōta Nanpo) (Japanese, 1749–1823)
  • Period: Edo period (1615-1868)
  • Date: ca. 1800; inscription ca. 1810
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 29 1/4 in. × 10 in. (74.3 × 25.4 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 59 3/4 × 13 5/16 in. (151.8 × 33.9 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 59 3/4 × 15 3/16 in. (151.8 × 38.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Miki and Sebastian Izzard, 2018
  • Object Number: 2018.914.2
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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