The Story of Fukutomi (mid-1400s): Art, History and Details

The Story of Fukutomi (mid-1400s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This handscroll shows the second half of an odd tale in which a ne’er-do-well seeks the path to quick fortune and learns the art of musical flatulence. Prior to a major performance, a mentor (and competitor) advises him to consume morning glory seeds, a laxative. Thus, while performing he fouls himself and ends his days in humiliation. The audacious nature of this story and its presentation—well-animated figures with dialogue adjacent to the appropriate moments of action—create a primitive graphic novel. Japanese visual humor about farting preceded this story, but the satirical, mean-spirited twist in this tale suggests its intent was not merely to be humorous. The story was likely commissioned by court officials who disapproved of common performers rising to high positions, outflanking what was the accepted social order.

Object facts

• Title: The Story of Fukutomi
• Date: mid-1400s
• Culture: Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)
• Type: Painting
• Technique: Handscroll; ink and color on paper
• Dimensions: Image: 35.3 x 1028.8 cm (13 7/8 x 405 1/16 in.); Overall: 37 x 1067 cm (14 9/16 x 420 1/16 in.)
• Collection: ASIAN - Handscroll
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1953.358

A detail from the museum

This scroll is treasured as the second oldest surviving version of this story.

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.

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.