“One who is loyal to his lord and filial to his parents will receive my straw raincoat, straw hat, magic mallet, and bag.”¹

 

In this important painting, Hakuin incorporates Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods (shichifukujin), popular figures drawn from Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and native Japanese folklore, to express a theme of loyalty and filial piety. Each god is identifiable through canonical attributes, such as the god of prosperity, Daikoku, who holds his signature magic mallet at right, or Hotei with his large sack, which he beats like a drum, at left. Hakuin’s inscription mentions both the mallet and bag, as well as a raincoat and hat, as rewards for honoring one’s ruler and parents. Further enhancing this theme is the text read by the god of longevity, Fukurokuju, distinguished by his oversized forehead at lower left: “Shōki hides his sword under the eaves, and stealthily, stealthily guards the palace.” It references the figure at center, Shōki, the famed demon queller, who has replaced the warrior god Bishamonten in the canonical grouping of the seven gods. In Hakuin’s playful scene, Fukurokuju and Hotei at left assume the roles of narrator and drummer, indicating this is in fact a Noh theater performance. The unusual presence of Shōki indicates that the gods are staging a theatrical performance of the figure’s eponymous Noh play, Shōki, showing that they, too, enjoy popular pursuits, thus making them more relatable to Hakuin’s audience.

 

This work is unusual among Hakuin’s paintings in that it was clearly painting in more than one session, as the visible underdrawings of some of the gods, especially those at left, indicate.

 

—Bradley Bailey