Picture of Drunken Lu Zhishen Smashing a Vajra Warrior at the Temple of Mount Wutai, September 1887
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 2017.106.165a,b
Not on Viewexpand_more
Like another vertical diptych nearby, this one takes its motif from the popular Chinese novel The Tales of the Water Margin (Shuihuzhuan; Jap.: Suikoden). In it, Lu Zhishen is a policeman who accidentally kills a man and must flee his village. He enters a monastery where he receives the nickname Flowery Monk, since his upper body is adorned with tattoos of flowers. Bored by monastic life, he gets drunk, and on his return to the temple he is refused entry. In a rage, he demolishes one of the two large vajra warrior sculptures that guard the temple gate. The entrance to Mia’s Japanese Buddhist gallery is guarded by such a pair of vajra warriors.
Details
- Title
- Picture of Drunken Lu Zhishen Smashing a Vajra Warrior at the Temple of Mount Wutai
- Artist Life
- 1839 - 1892
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2017.106.165a,b
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Keyes, Courage and Silence (1982), no. 498; Iwakiri, Yoshitoshi (2014), fig. 218, p. 291.
- Curator Approved
This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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