A female immortal riding on a white deer

Object Details

• Artist

  Kishi Ganku 岸駒 (1749-1838)

• School/Tradition

  Ukiyo-e

• Signatures

  Signature reading: "Gagaku no suke Ganku utsusu" translation: "copied by the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Music Ganku".

• Marks

  Two seals. First reads "gagaku no suke no sho" translation: "seal of the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Music", and the second "Ganku".

• Inscriptions

  On the upper left corner of the picture is a short inscription in the form of a balanced couplet which reads:

  "Suwarite mote kin wo tomo ni nashi,

  Yukite shika no ai-shitagau koto ari.

  Gyokuen."

  This may be translated:

  "While sitting at home

  She makes a lute her companion,

  While she travels abroad

  A deer attends upon her.

  Gyokuen".

  Gyokuen".

• Label

  A female Chinese immortal who holds a red fly-whisk rides a deer that is a symbol of long life in Japan. The image may represent a female counterpart to the popular Chinese Daoist deity of long life, who is known in Japanese as Jurojin. The longevity theme is also represented by the fungus of longevity that grows from the rocks. Jurojin is usually represented as an elderly man, whereas this deity is a young woman. The substitution of a beautiful, youthful woman for the familiar Jurojin may be an example of mitate, a literary and artistic device that creates unexpected parallels or comparisons between dissimilar subjects. The painting was created during a vogue for paintings of "Chinese beauties" that was begun by Maruyama Okyo in the eighteenth century. The inscription, a two-line couplet in Chinese, reads:

  While sitting at home she makes a lute her companion,

  While she travels abroad a deer attends upon her.

  The poem is signed Gyokuen, the literary name of the Confucian scholar and calligrapher Tatsu Seika (1751-1821). The painter, Kishi Ganku, studied Chinese-style painting as well as the style of Maruyama Okyo and his followers. The fluid, descriptive lines and delicate colors of the costume reflect the influence of the Okyo school.

  (Translation of poem by William R. B. Acker)

• Provenance

  To 1894

  M. Terauchi, to 1894 [1]

  From 1894 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from M. Terauchi in December 1894 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Voucher No. 6, December, 1894, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Tales and Legends in Japanese Art (June 21, 2003 to January 4, 2004)

• Previous custodian or owner

  M. Terauchi (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1900s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Terauchi, M.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Daoist Immortals, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Animals, Fly whisk, Couplet, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Woman, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings