Cleveland Museum of Art

Youth as a Stand-in Monju

Suzuki HarunobuLinkedCulture matchlcp-b641e8b682cb

Date: c. 1767
Medium: color woodblock print
Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Department: Japanese Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 111625

In this image, a handsome young man replaces the Buddhist figure Monju, a bodhisattva—or enlightened being—often shown riding a lion. Monju symbolizes wisdom and customarily holds a sword and a sacred text atop a lotus flower. The youth here meditates instead on his tobacco kit and a long pipe. The print was once paired with another, showing a young woman replacing Fugen, a bodhisattva who rides an elephant.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore
Provenance: (Yamanaka & Co., sold to Edward L. Whittemore) | ?–1930: Edward L. Whittemore [1862–1930], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art | 1930–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

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