Minneapolis Institute of Art

Chinese Immortals [one of a pair]

Hara Zaichū

Date: 1804
Medium: Hanging scroll, right of a pair, ink and color on silk
Department: Asian Art
Institution: Minneapolis Institute of Art

This pair of scrolls depicts two Daoist immortals commonly paired in Japanese and Chinese art because of their corresponding supernatural curative powers. Depicted on the left is Gama Sennin, literally “toad hermit, ” named for the large, three-legged toad that always accompanies him. He is based on Liu Hai, a 10th-century civil servant and alchemist. On the right, Tekkai Sennin is a figure adopted from Chinese mythology, Li Tieguai, one of the Eight Immortals. He is thought to be able to leave his body and is seen here as he exhales his spirit from his mouth. Tekkai Sennin is traditionally represented holding a gourd, from which he dispenses medicine. Asia

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