(The miraculous gourd guarded by sacred snake which appeared in the garden of Emaro in Sanuki province around the time of the birth of Prince Shotoku), Utagawa Kuniyoshi

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Utagawa Kuniyoshi, (The miraculous gourd guarded by sacred snake which appeared in the garden of Emaro in Sanuki province around the time of the birth of Prince Shotoku)
Utagawa Kuniyoshi, (The miraculous gourd guarded by sacred snake which appeared in the garden of Emaro in Sanuki province around the time of the birth of Prince Shotoku)
(The miraculous gourd guarded by sacred snake which appeared in the garden of Emaro in Sanuki province around the time of the birth of Prince Shotoku)
circa 1840 (later printing), Edo period (1600–1868)
1797–1861
(The miraculous gourd guarded by sacred snake which appeared in the garden of Emaro in Sanuki province around the time of the birth of Prince Shotoku), circa 1840 (later printing), Edo period (1600–1868)
Portfolio/Series title: Shōtoku Taishi go ichidaiki (Biography of Prince Shōtoku)
Where object was made: Japan
Material/technique: color woodcut
Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 254 x 374.7 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 10 x 14 3/4 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 x 19 in
Credit line: Gift of H. Lee Turner
Accession number: 1968.0001.043
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: "The Art of Stories Told," Jun-2004, Veronica de Jong Strolling towards the viewer is a group of travelers that encounter a large gourd protected by a snake coiled above it. This scene depicts an episode in the biography of Prince Shōtoku (574-622) who was celebrated during his day for helping to establish Buddhism as the state religion. He was also renowned for instituting economic and political reforms based on the Chinese system. Shortly after his lifetime he was deified and numerous legends came to embellish his biography. According to his biography in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan) of 720, he was unexpectedly born when his mother arrived at the imperial horse stables and he could also talk immediately upon birth. Numerous sculptural and pictorial depictions of him and his biography were produced as his cult increased in popularity. Many pictorial biographies were derived from large screen paintings produced in the ninth century for a temple (Hōryū-ji) that was actually founded by Shotoku. They formed a series of hanging scrolls that were divided horizontally into multiple scenes and were frequently displayed to the faithful on commemorative days. Here we see a single scene that was likely inspired by one of these illustrations.