Daruma

Daruma

1600s
Artist
Fugai Ekun, Japanese, 1568-1654
Country
Japan
Object
painting
Accession Number
1982.135
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Bunker
Fugai Ekun (Japanese). Daruma. 1600s. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Bunker. 1982.135.
Dimensions
image height: 24 in, 60.96 cm; image width: 12 1/4 in, 31.115 cm; mount height: 54 1/8 in, 137.4775 cm; mount width: 16 3/4 in, 42.545 cm; overall width: 18 3/4 in, 47.625 cm
Inscription
Black characters on lid of box; Poem: "An eagle is flying high in the sky/ Sparrows! do not depend on the protection of fences/ Use your own talents/ Heave the stone by yourself!/ Control your violence." Tr. by Mathias Komor.
Department
Arts of Asia
Collection
Arts of Asia

Fūgai Ekun
Japanese, 1568–1654
Bodhidharma
1600s, Edo period (1615–1868)
Ink and color on silk
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Bunker
1982.135

Bodhidharma (known in Japan as Daruma) is the South Indian monk who introduced the Zen school of Buddhism (Chinese: Chan) to China in the sixth century. From the late sixteenth century, exaggerated caricatures of Daruma became a frequent subject among Japanese painters. Daruma’s piercing gaze in this painting is a reference to an account that Daruma sat meditating for nine years, staring at a cave wall with wide-open eyes. The artist of this work, Fūgai Ekun, was nicknamed Ana (Cave) Fūgai because he spent many years living in mountainside caves, perhaps in emulation of Daruma.

Known Provenance
Mathias Komor [1909-1984], New York, NY; Purchased by Mr. and Mrs. John B. [1926-2005] and Emma [1930-2021] Bunker, San Francisco, CA.; Gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 1982 Provenance research is on-going. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.