Daruma Playing a Shamisen, Katsushika Hokusai

Exhibition Label: “The Sacred and the Secular: Buddhist Imagery in Religious and Popular Contexts,” Oct-2005, Hillary Pedersen Most well-known for his dramatic landscape prints, Hokusai was also an accomplished drawer and painter. He imbues his spontaneous sketch-like rendering of subjects with movement, vitality, and sometimes humor. Here he has drawn the Zen patriarch Bodhidharma, or Daruma, identified by his robe, Indian-style earrings, bulging eyes and bushy facial hair. He plays a shamisen, a stringed instrument plucked with a large, flared pick. This sketch was probably not intended for any specific use or publication, and is probably a personal sketch not meant for public viewing. Evidence of this are the misplaced markings on the paper; seen seeping from the other side is red ink from another drawing, which depicts a man’s arm holding a goose by the neck. The calligraphy at the bottom of the image is upside down and backwards, probably having been written on the other side of the paper. This drawing illustrates the ubiquitous nature of Daruma images in Japanese society, for while it is not a religous drawing meant to be used in worship practices, it nevertheless is one artist’s free, simple rendering of an important Buddhist figure.