# Staff and Fly Swatter

- By: Suiō Genro (1716–1789)
- Date: 1716 - 1789
- Medium: paper, ink
- Classification: hanging scroll
- Dimensions: height 111.2 cm x width 21.7 cm
- Credit line: On loan from the Royal Asian Art Society in The Netherlands (gift F. Hess, 2018)
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/AK-MAK-1800--045e3eedf62a78b565b73e656609e2d7)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/9441bade846dc8afae0a9472605034f1.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Important priests are normally depicted in full regalia, but this is different in Zen paintings. There, a portrait of a priest is often reduced to his attributes: a staff and a fly swatter as symbols of authority. The fly swatter also stands for ‘sweeping away’ evil influences, obstacles and ignorance.