Actor seated on a shishi representing the bodhisattva Monju (Yaro Monju)
ca 1725 - 30
The design of this narrow print was drawn with sumi ink and then hand-colored with pigments made from safflower. The print depicts a young male actor, identifiable by his head cap, sitting atop a shishi lion in a parody of the bodhisattva Monju, the Buddhist deity of wisdom. His left hand holds the sutra of wisdom, and his robe is decorated with auspicious symbols. The original images for the center and left sheets of this triptych are not presently known, but are thought to have depicted prostitutes in the guise of Buddhist deities Shaka and Fugen. Parody prints were playful updates of familiar literary and religious motifs-Masanobu was renowned for such prints.
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Sheet size: 12 1/4 x 6 in. (31.1 x 15.2 cm)
Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar
2011.40.4
Provenance: [Peter Gilder, Arts and Designs of Japan, San Francisco, California]; private collection; [Christie’s, New York, An Important Collection of Japanese Prints, Mar. 25, 2003, sale no. 1298, lot no. 3, reproduced p. 12]; purchased at auction by Allan Kollar, Seattle, Washington, 2003; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2011
