Bodhidharma on a Reed (1500s): Art, History and Details

Bodhidharma on a Reed (1500s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Shingo (Japanese).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Bodhidharma (Daruma in Japanese) is the founder of the Zen school of Buddhism. He is usually represented as a bearded figure whose dark-skinned appearance refers to his Indian ancestry. His scowling facial expression not only signifies the determination with which he pursues religious enlightenment, but also discourages followers who are not similarly motivated. Zen Buddhism emphasizes the importance of seeking enlightenment directly through meditation, without reliance on the written word.

Object facts

• Title: Bodhidharma on a Reed
• Date: 1500s
• Creator attribution: Shingo (Japanese)
• Culture: Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: hanging scroll; ink and light color on paper
• Dimensions: Painting: 88.8 x 33.7 cm (34 15/16 x 13 1/4 in.); Mounted with knobs: 172.4 x 50.7 cm (67 7/8 x 19 15/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Hanging scroll
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1983.21

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• [Untitled catalogue.] Tokyo, Japan: Nezu Art Museum, 1943.
• “神毫筆蘆葉達磨圖.” Kokka 國華 642 (May 1944): p. 135.
• Turner, Evan H. “Year in Review for 1983.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (February 1984): 38–79.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.