Ôtsu-e: The Thunder God Fishing for His Drum / Artist Unknown, Japan

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About this Item

Record Details

Accession Number
1987/1.368
Title
Ôtsu-e: The Thunder God Fishing for His Drum
Artist Nationality
Japanese
Object Creation Date
20th century
Object Creation Place
Asia (continent)
Japan (nation)
Creation Place 1
Asia (continent)
Creation Place 2
Japan (nation)
Style/Group/Movement
Ôtsu-e
Dimensions
44.2 cm x 26.5 cm (17 3/8 in. x 10 7/16 in.)
Century
20th century
Primary Object Classification
Painting
Primary Object Type
hanging scroll
Secondary Object Classification
Painting
Secondary Object Type
figure painting
Physical Description
This painting portrays the Thunder God (Raijin), a powerful and ferocious figure, is fishing for his drum, carelessly dropped in the ocean.
Subject Matter
This painting is an example of Otsu-e, a type of folk painting originating not far from Kyoto in the present-day Shiga Prefecture towns of Otsu, Oiwake, and Otani. Otsu-e were produced with cheap local materials and stencils were used to facilitate mass production, making them affordable even to the lower classes.
By the latter half of the seventeenth century, Otsu-e became more secular. This humorous painting among other Otsu-e had strong popular appeal, and made their way into the art and literature of famous Edo period figures. Otsu-e with iconography associated with beneficial powers would later function as amulets.
Rights
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Technical Details

Image Size
927 x 1459
File Size
140 KB
Record
1987/1.368
Link to this Item
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.368/1987_1.368.jpg

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Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1987-SL-1.368:1987_1.368.JPG

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Full citation
"Ôtsu-e: The Thunder God Fishing for His Drum; Artist Unknown, Japan." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1987-sl-1.368/1987_1.368.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed March 19, 2024.
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