Gold paint on red silkexpand_more
The John R. Van Derlip Fund; purchase from the collection of Elizabeth and Willard Clarkexpand_more 2013.31.204
This outstanding work is a hoso-e, a kind of charm used as protection against or recovery from smallpox, as red was believed to ward off plague and disaster. Usually showing a heroic figure, this painting features one of the fierce five Wisdom Kings in Esoteric Buddhism. The painting is accompanied by a letter from Kamiryo Seiju, a physician and good friend of Hōgai, explaining to a priest that this painting was used in rituals as a religious icon.
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