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Ōtsu-e Nirvana of the Buddha (Ōtsu-e Butsu Nehanzu)

Hakuen (Japanese, active 1850–1870)

1800s

Medium: hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Classification: Painting
Dimensions: Overall: 201.9 x 78.7 cm (79 1/2 x 31 in.)
Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art, Japanese Art
Credit line: Collection of Dr. Daniel Verne and Mitzie Verne
Rights: Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

About this work

The painting parodies the traditional representation of this subject. The death of Buddha is actually the moment he achieves nirvana and escapes the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Hakuen transformed this serious moment (see The Death of the Buddha, CMA 1916.1141) into a lively parody with otsu-e subjects. Mourners surround the Buddha. An oni, who pretends to be a priest, holds his gong in the air as he beats his drums and chants prayers. The wisteria maiden appears at the left, bringing water to the mourners. Behind her is an oni in the guise of a thunder god beating his drums. The animals along the foreground represent other otsu-e characters and models. The painting would have amused 19th-century viewers familiar with the usual Buddhist imagery.