Hotei
late 1400s
Medium
hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
132.1 × 41.7 cm · painting only: 51 × 24.8 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Japanese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession Number
1988.17
Tags
About this artwork
The Zen monk Jonan Etetsu is recorded as the 183rd abbot of Tō fuku-ji temple in the eastern hills of Kyoto, one of the earliest and most influential Zen institutions in medieval Japan. Otherwise, the only biographical information known to date has been gleaned from a few inscriptions on paintings documenting his friendship with another eminent monk, Ryō ’an Keigo (1425–1514), and two paintings bearing Jonan’s own poetic inscriptions. This image of Hotei (Chinese: Budai), a legendary, 10th-centu...