Demon Intoning the Name of the Buddha

鬼の念仏図

1700s

Japan, Edo period

(1615–1868)

Medium

hanging scroll, ink and color on paper

Measurements

Painting only: 59.2 x 22.1 cm (23 5/16 x 8 11/16 in.); Including mounting: 126.4 x 33 cm (49 3/4 x 13 in.)

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1982.26

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Description

Images like this one that depicts a demon in the guise of an itinerant monk intoning the name of the Buddha are called Otsu-e, or "Otsu paintings." Otsu-e were made as souvenirs for travelers passing through the station of Otsu along the Tokaido, the route stretching from Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to Kyoto. Realized through a combination of woodblock printing, rapid brushstrokes, embellishment with color and gold pigments by stencil or by hand, the earliest Otsu-e, produced in the 17th century, were Buddhist and Shinto icons. Later images included figures popular from Kabuki plays, as well as scenes illustrating parables.