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Source Description
The Sea Monk (Umi Bozu) is a sea monster with a smooth round head, like the shaven head of a Buddhist monk. This woodblock print illustrates the story of the sailor Kawanaya Tokuzo, who decides to go to sea on the last day of the year, which other sailors consider unlucky. A violent storm breaks out, and the Umi Bozu appears. In a ghastly voice the apparition demands, "Name the most horrible thing you know!" Tokuzo yells back, "My profession is the most horrible thing I know!" The monster is apparently satisfied with this answer and disappears along with the storm.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
11711
label
Kuwana: The Story of the Sailor Tokuzō
core
obj
dtoType
print
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
11711
sourceUrl
contentType
print
stage
normalized
title
Kuwana: The Story of the Sailor Tokuzō
description
The Sea Monk (Umi Bozu) is a sea monster with a smooth round head, like the shaven head of a Buddhist monk. This woodblock print illustrates the story of the sailor Kawanaya Tokuzo, who decides to go to sea on the last day of the year, which other sailors consider unlucky. A violent storm breaks out, and the Umi Bozu appears. In a ghastly voice the apparition demands, "Name the most horrible thing you know!" Tokuzo yells back, "My profession is the most horrible thing I know!" The monster is apparently satisfied with this answer and disappears along with the storm.
provenance
C. Robert Snell, Oriental Arts & Antiques, Timonium, Maryland; purchased by Justine Lewis Keidel, Owings Mills, Maryland, after 1971; given to Walters Art Museum, 1991.
date
ca. 1845-1846 (late Edo)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Prints
woodblock prints
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
36.2
height
24.8
dimensionsRaw
H: 14 1/4 x W: 9 3/4 in. (36.2 x 24.77 cm)
style
Utagawa School
Source extras
cul
Japanese
inscriptions
[Signature] Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi ga; [Transcription] Funanori Tokuzo no den
med
ink and color on mulberry paper
creator_ids
14982
5546
collection_ids
JPK
exhibition_ids
2987
3514
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
6b39bf0a6c9c0a28