The Tale of Shuten Dōji

Object Details

Artist

Kano Shoun (1637-1702)

Calligrapher

Imperial Prince Fushiminomiya Kuninaga 伏見宮邦永 (1676-1726)

Higashizono Motokazu (1653-1710)

Nakayama Atsuchika (1656-1716)

Label

This scroll from a set of three portrays the tale of the killing of Shuten Doji, a giant who lived in a mountain fortress and periodically kidnapped and devoured young noblewomen from Kyoto. Set in the tenth century, the story celebrates the exploits of the warrior known as Raiko. With his band of warriors disguised as Buddhist monks, Raiko locates and enters Shuten Doji’s fortress. There they kill the giant after he falls asleep from drinking a wine potion.

This lively tale was often reproduced in paintings and in woodblock-printed books. Painted on silk rather than the usual paper, this set of scrolls is a particularly luxurious example of a work by a professional artist of the Kano school. The participation of an imperial prince and high-ranking imperial courtiers as calligraphers indicates that the commission for this scroll must have come from a person of high rank. These handscrolls enhance the museum’s holdings of Japanese narrative paintings of the Edo period (1615-1868) and complement other paintings of the same story in folding screen and fan formats.

(see also F1998.26.2 and F1998.26.3)

Provenance

To 1998

Deborah and David Chodoff, Katonah, NY, by descent, to 1998 [1]

From 1998

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Deborah and David Chodoff in 1998

Notes:

[1] The object came from the estate of the owner's mother, who had owned them since acquiring them in Japan during her residence there in the 1960s (see Curatorial Note 2, Ann Yonemura, March 4, 1998, in the object record).

Collection

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History

The Tale of Shuten Doji (March 21 to September 20, 2009)

Honoring Friends: Recent Gifts by Members of the Freer and Sackler Galleries (June 10 to November 25, 2001)

Previous custodian or owner

Deborah and David Chodoff

Credit Line

Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of Asian Arts

1700

Period

Edo period

Accession Number

F1998.26.1

Restrictions & Rights

CC0

Type

Painting

Medium

Ink, color, gold, and silver on silk

Dimensions

H x W (overall): 37.6 x 1880.7 cm (14 13/16 x 740 7/16 in)

Origin

Japan

Related Online Resources

Google Cultural Institute

See more items in

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic

Edo period (1615 - 1868)

Japan

Japanese Art

Shuten Doji

Tale of Shuten Doji

Record ID

fsg_F1998.26.1

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye341830bce-c001-463b-a67b-f6c66bdb4977