Picture of Penance under the Waterfall at Mount Nachi, 1859, 10th lunar month (C), 1860, 6th lunar month (L, R)
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paperexpand_more
The Mary Griggs Burke Endowment Fund established by the Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, gifts of various donors, by exchange, and gift of Edmond Freis in memory of his parents, Rose and Leon Freisexpand_more 2017.106.3a-c
Not on Viewexpand_more
According to legend, after the young samurai Endō Morito (1139–1203) mistakenly killed the object of his love, Kesa-gozen, he became a monk and took the name Mongaku. As a penance for his crime, he decided to stand for 21 days under the icy waterfall at Mount Nachi which, with an uninterrupted drop of over 400 feet, is the tallest in Japan. There he continuously recited incantations to the deity Fudō Myō-ō. After seven days he lost consciousness but was rescued by the deity’s child attendants, who helped him so he could complete his harsh task.
Yoshitoshi originally designed only the center sheet, which, very dramatically, shows only Mongaku’s face and praying hands amid the water. Half a year later, the two flanking sheets were added to create a more panoramic view of the scene.
Details
- Title
- Picture of Penance under the Waterfall at Mount Nachi
- Artist Life
- 1839 - 1892
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2017.106.3a-c
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Keyes, Courage and Silence (1982), nos. 5, 23; Iwakiri, Yoshitoshi (2014), p. 300.
- Curator Approved
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