Hotei, from the series "Comparison of the Treasures of the Gods of Good Fortune (Fukujin takara awase)"
c. 1795
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.5 × 25.7 cm (15 1/8 × 10 3/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
36119
Art Historical Context
In this vibrant color woodblock print from around 1795, Chôbunsai Eishi captures Hotei, one of Japan's beloved Seven Gods of Good FortuneShichifukujin), in the series *Comparison of the Treasures of the Gods of Good Fortune (Fujin takara awase)*. Hotei, the portly god of abundance and laughter, is depicted with his signature oversized belly, bald head, and magical cloth sack overflowing with treasures—symbols of prosperity and contentment. Eishi, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition during Japan's Edo period, skillfully contrasts Hotei's joyful form against elegant patterns and subtle gradients, ...
About the Artist
Chôbunsai Eishi · 1756–1829
Chôbunsai Eishi, born Hosoda Tokitomi in 1756 to a prosperous samurai family of the Fujiwara clan in Edo, inherited a substantial stipend of 500 koku of rice annually. His grandfather had served as the shogunate's Treasury Minister, and upon his father Hosoda Tokiyuki's death in 1772, Eishi became family head while holding a position in Shogun Tokugawa Ieharu's palace from 1781. Unusually for a uk...