The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Hotei

Hotei

mid-1500s
(Japanese, d. 1573)
calligrapher

Tōkei Jakurin

(Japanese, dates unknown)
Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Overall: 85.7 x 35.3 cm (33 3/4 x 13 7/8 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1978.48
Location: not on view

Description

Hotei is a semilegendary figure who may have lived from the late 800s to the early 900s. He later became prominent in Chan (or Zen, in Japanese) Buddhist literature. He epitomizes the freewheeling figure outside the mainstream monastic system—in which people strive for enlightenment through prescribed methods—who nonetheless attains a high level of spiritual awakening. The inscription warns against seeking enlightenment by conscious effort:

Big stomach, gaping garment,
Treasures gathered deep in the bottom of his bag,
Passing through the sky is another road,
Do not seek that to which his fingertip points.
  • by 1976–1978
    (Ms. Robin Fox [1935–2016], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1978-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Shimizu, Yoshiaki, and Carolyn Wheelwright. Japanese Ink Paintings from American Collections: The Muromachi Period: an Exhibition in Honor of Shūjirō Shimada. Princeton, NJ: Art Museum, Princeton University: Distributed by Princeton University Press, 1976. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 9, pp. 88–93
  • Early Rinpa (Japanese gallery rotation) 235. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 23, 2020-January 17, 2021).
    Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 121). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 18-October 26, 2003).
    Autumn Grasses: Arts of the Momoyama Period (1573-1615). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4-December 11, 1988).
    Suibokuga: Japanese Ink Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 1, 1985-February 24, 1986).
    茶の美術 : 特別展 (Art of the Tea Ceremony). Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (organizer) (October 7-November 24, 1980).
    Journey of the Three Jewels: Japanese Buddhist Paintings in Western Collections. Asia House Galleries, New York City, NY (organizer) (October 11-December 9, 1979); Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO (March 27-May 11, 1980).
    Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).
    Japanese Ink Paintings from American Collections: The Muromachi period: An exhibition in honor of Shūjirō Shimada. The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (April 25–June 13, 1976).
  • {{cite web|title=Hotei|url=false|author=Yamada Dōan I (Juntei), Tōkei Jakurin|year=mid-1500s|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.48