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A demon as a mendicant monk
Also titled Een duivel als bedelmonnik
Kawanabe Kyôsai (Furukawa, 1831–1889)
1850 - 1889
- Medium
- paper, ink
- Classification
- hanging scroll
- Dimensions
- diameter 26 mm
- Museum
- Rijksmuseum
- Credit line
- Gift of Milne Henderson Fine Art Ltd, London
- Rights
- Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
About this work
A demon dressed as a mendicant monk is travelling to collect money for a temple, while calling on Buddha Amida in a loud voice. He is striking a wooden gong to announce his arrival. The motif is a metaphor for Buddhism’s power to save: even demons can change their ways. Although this depiction is probably an ironic portrayal of insincerity and pretended piety.
