| Created1870 – 1885 | |
| Technique Color woodblock print (nishiki-e) | |
| Dimensionsh 47,5 × w 34,5 cm | |
| Signature | Seisei Kyōsai hitsu |
| Short item description This design shows Hotei, the god of contentment and good fortune, joyfully wading through water while carrying a sack full of children. The subject belongs to the iconography of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune (Shichifukujin), yet Kyōsai treats it with humorous exaggeration and light caricature, typical of his late Meiji style. The contrast between the laughing children and the benevolent, somewhat weary deity embodies Kyōsai’s playful moral tone: true wealth is found in generosity. Kyōsai produced both printed and hand-painted versions of this composition, responding to increasing Western demand for Japanese painting in the 1870s–1880s. The present example is a woodblock print; closely related nikuhitsu paintings on silk and paper are also documented. | |
#25000124
100 Woodblock Prints from the 18th to 20th Centuries
