Miracles performed by the bodhisattva Jizo (copy of a section of a handscroll)
date: label: Date
content: 1627
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Kano Tan'yu 狩野探幽 (1602-1674)
notes: label: Label
content: This early narrative handscroll (emakimono) depicts miraculous stories of the compassionate bodhisattva Jizo (Kshitigarbha), a Buddhist deity worshipped as a savior of those condemned to hell. With the scroll, Freer acquired a final copy of the section, done in 1627 by Kano Tan'yu. The copy shows text that was later lost from the original scroll. Freer’s acquisition of such copies and preliminary drawings, in addition to finished works of art, expressed his commitment to their research value, which was unusual among collectors at the time. Freer purchased this handscroll in 1907 from the art dealer Nomura Yozo (1870–1965), whose firm in Yokohama, Japan, was known as Samurai Shokai. Nomura commissioned decorative handcrafts designed for export, and he also sold Asian antiquities.
label: Provenance
content: From 1907 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased through Samurai Shokai, Yokohama, Japan, in 1907 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Makimono List, L. 601, pg. 159, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See Purchase Details in Accession List, Collections Management Office, which states: "Through Samurai Shokai - during oriental trip 1906-1907." Samurai Shokai was the shop of Nomura Yozo, a dealer who acted as Charles Lang Freer's agent in Japan.
label: Provenance
content: [2] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Freer: A Taste for Japanese Art (July 1, 2006 to January 1, 2007)
label: Exhibition History
content: Telling Tales in Japanese Art (November 23, 1996 to August 14, 1997)
label: Exhibition History
content: Japanese Drawings (March 16, 1984 to July 22, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 1 and 2 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Samurai Shokai (founded 1894) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: bodhisattva
label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: miracle
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1907.375b
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 125 x 13.3 cm (49 3/16 x 5 1/4 in)