The fisherman Hakuryo and Mount Fuji

Maker(s)
Artist: Hishikawa Sōri 菱川宗理
Historical period(s)
Edo period, 1770-1820
Medium
Color on paper
Dimensions
H x W (image): 86.3 × 28.1 cm (34 × 11 1/16 in)
Geography
Japan
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1900.58
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Hanging scroll

Keywords
Edo period (1615 - 1868), fisherman, Japan, kakemono, ukiyo-e
Provenance

To 1900
Bunshichi Kobayashi (circa 1861-1923), Tokyo, Japan, to 1900 [1]

From 1900 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Bunshichi Kobayashi, through Edward. S. Hull Jr., New York, in 1900 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Kakemono List, L. 223, pg. 49, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Along with the name of B. Kobayashi, the purchase details for this object also note the name of E.S. Hull Jr. (see Accession List, Collections Management office). Edward S. Hull Jr. of New York was Ernest Francisco Fenollosa’s (1853-1908) lawyer. Hull often acted as an agent, facilitating purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa, as well as purchases of objects consigned to him by Fenollosa's well-known associate, Bunshichi Kobayashi (see correspondence, Hull to Freer, 1898-1900, as well as invoices from E.S. Hull Jr., 1898-1900, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives).

[2] See note 1.

[3] 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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Edward S. Hull Jr.
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Kobayashi Bunshichi (C.L. Freer source) ca. 1861-1923

Label

Sori's range of subjects, like Hokusai's, was broader than most artists of ukiyo-e.  His work included classical literary subjects, such as Six Immortal Poets, and sympathetic renderings of humble peasants, like this fisherman posed in strict profile with the sacred Mount Fuji silhouetted in the background.  The colored feather cloak worn by the fisherman alludes to a Japanese legend about the fisherman Hakuryo, who encounters a beautiful spirit near Mount Fuji.  Startled by his humble appearance, she flees, leaving behind her feathered cloak (hagoromo).  The story became the subject of a famous Noh play.

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Terms of Use