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Photograph © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
63
ArtistJapanese, 1750–1837

Hotei Waking from a Nap

late 18th or early 19th century
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Overall: 11 5/8 × 19 1/16 in. (29.5 × 48.4 cm) Mount: 43 9/16 × 19 15/16 in. (110.7 × 50.6 cm) Roller: 21 7/8 × 1 1/8 in. (55.5 × 2.8 cm)
EX.2023.NW.073

“What a pleasant nap! I dreamt I was the Duke of Zhou!”1

With its loose, almost cartoonish style, this portrait of Hotei typifies Sengai Gibon’s Zen paintings. The inscription states that Hotei, Sengai’s favorite subject, has awakened from a dream in which he was the 11th-century Chinese statesman Zhougong, the Duke of Zhou. According to legend, Confucius dreamt so often of the duke that he eventually believed he had become him. This painting suggests the ability to transcend illusory dreams. Sengai’s treatment of Hotei may also support this reading: Hotei’s large belly resembles an ensō, implying his spiritual wholeness, while the brushstrokes forming the hem of his robe resemble the character for kokoro (“heart”), signifying the inner Buddha nature.

 

—Bradley Bailey

Notes

1. John Stevens, Zen Mind Zen Brush: Japanese Ink Paintings from the Gitter-Yelen Collection (Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2006), 56. The inscription is translated alternately as “I dreamt I was the Duke of Zhou!” and “I dreamt I was Zhougong!”