Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), Immortals, gods of good fortune and Kyogen actors. Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2013
Signed Gakyo rojin Manji hitsu yowai hachiju (painted by old man Manji mad about painting at age 80), sealed Katsushika. Twelve paintings mounted as a pair of six-panel screens; ink, color and gold on silk; 29 x 12¼in. (73.5 x 31cm.) each (2). Estimate $200,000 – $300,000
Provenance: Kobayashi Bunshichi (1861-1923), Tokyo
Literature: Sasaki Johei, ed., Tokubetsu kikaku byobue ten Folding Screens (Kyoto: Kyoto University, 1994), pl. 15.
Exhibited: University Museum, Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University, "Tokubetsu kikaku byobue ten Folding Screens," 1994.6.14-7.16
Notes: One screen features kyogen theatrical scenes, including the plays Utsubozaru (Monkey-skin Quiver),Boshibari (Tied to a Pole), Tsurigitsune (Trapping the Fox), Nawanai (Rope Twisting), Busu (A Poison) andKoyakuneri. The other shows Daoist Immortals, notably Gama with his three-legged toad on his head and Choka decanting an ox in place of the usual horse, as well as some of the popular household Gods of Good Fortune, subjects Hokusai painted frequently late in life.
Ebisu, the Kitchen God, points to a fish he caught, and Daikoku appears in unconventional form with a giant radish, rather than his usual bag of treasures. The radish has the unmistakable shape of a young woman, her legs hanging over his shoulders, adding a bawdy touch. Included in the lighthearted mix are Shojo, the sea sprite with mane of red hair and a fondness for alcohol, and Sojobo, the mythical king of the tengu. Hokusai adopted the signature "gakyo rojin manji" (Old man Manji mad about painting, using the propitious manjisymbol) in 1834. From the time he turned eighty, he added his age to every painting.
Christie's. JAPANESE AND KOREAN ART. 18 September 2013. New York, Rockefeller Plaza.