Fudo Myo'o, no. 31

Object Details

• Artist

  Sasajima Kihei 笹島喜平 (1906-1993)

• Edition/State

  14/50

• Label

  This print is an excellent example of Sasajima's later work, which from 1962 onward was devoted to Buddhist and Shinto subjects. By this time, he had developed a distinctive technique combining deep embossing of dampened paper onto a carved woodblock using an etching press with application of ink from a pad to the raised surfaces. This latter technique, which derives from one used in Asia to produce rubbings from stone reliefs, differs from traditional woodblock printing in which the block is inked and the dampened paper laid down and rubbed from the back with a resilient tool known as the baren

  The subject of this print is Fudo Myo'o, one of the Buddhist deities of light. Particularly effective in this print is the rendering of flames behind the figure as brilliantly energetic graphic patterns.

• Collection

  National Museum of Asian Art Collection

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1970s

• Name

  Sasajima, Kihei

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Showa era (1926 - 1989), Acala (Buddhist deity), Japanese Art, Fudo Myo-o

• Culture

  Buddhists, Japanese

• Object Type

  Prints