Untitled

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

1846 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk · Asian Art

Zhong Kui, known in Japan as Shōki, was a scholar of early seventh-century China. Cheated out of the first rank in civil service examinations, he died by suicide but was buried with honors after the emperor heard of his tragic death. In gratitude, Shōki appeared to a subsequent Chinese emperor in a dream as an exorcist who vowed to quell demons and banish disease. In Japan, auspicious images of Shōki were displayed for Boys’ Day, a spring festival celebrating children’s health. In this work made by Katsushika Hokusai at the age of eighty-seven, the artist painted Zhong Kui in red, a color thought to have magical efficacy in warding off smallpox.

Artist

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Date

1846

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914