Minneapolis Institute of Art

Monkeys Playing on a Stone Lantern

Mori Sosen

Date

early 19th century

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A lantern becomes a jungle gym for these monkeys. Some peek through the firebox while one climbs the post, and still others congregate at the base as they study a wasp and its nest. The word for “monkey” in Japanese is saru, a homophone with saru, which means to go away; monkeys were believed to make bad luck go away. Early in his career, Mori painted monkeys based on live specimens caught by hunters; later in life, he studied them in nature in the mountains. Asia

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