69
Artist
Reigen EtōJapanese, 1721–1785
Japanese
Mount Fuji, Hawk, and Eggplant
18th century
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Image: 13 1/2 × 22 1/4 in. (34.3 × 56.5 cm)
Scroll: 43 3/8 × 25 1/2 × 1 1/8 in. (110.2 × 64.8 × 2.9 cm)
Storage box: 27 1/8 × 2 7/8 × 3 in. (68.9 × 7.3 × 7.6 cm)
The Gitter-Yelen Collection, museum purchase funded by the Brown Foundation Accessions Endowment Fund
2021.214
ProvenanceResearch Ongoing“Number one, Fuji; number two, a hawk; number three, eggplants.”1
Reigen Etō was one of Hakuin’s most important disciples, eventually becoming the head abbot of Tenryūji, a Rinzai Zen temple in Kyoto, where he spread his master’s teachings within the formal Zen Buddhist establishment. Hakuin’s influence can clearly be seen in this spare yet striking work, which depicts the three components of an auspicious hatsuyume, the first dream of the New Year. The playful inscription reproduces the recitation taught to children to memorize the auspicious elements in the correct order to foretell a prosperous year.
—Bradley Bailey