Minneapolis Institute of Art

Monkey trying to catch a catfish with a gourd

Japan

Date

late 19th century

Medium

Ink and color on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Kōans are seemingly nonsensical questions that a Zen master would ask his pupils, and among the most famous kōans is this one: How to catch a slippery catfish with a smooth gourd. In the 15th century, a court painter made the first known painting of this subject. By the early 18th century, a more humorous take on the phrase began to appear in Ōtsu-e, the simple folk paintings that originated in the town of Ōtsu, on Lake Biwa—a monkey hopelessly trying to achieve the impossible. Japan, Asia

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