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Shrine Cabinet in the shape of a Mountain Monk’s Backpack (Oi)

1911
Not on view
Iizuka Hōsai II often created bamboo works in the shape of objects that would traditionally have been made in other media. Meant to be used as a portable shrine, this cabinet takes the form of an oi, the characteristic backpack of mountain monks and pilgrims. Hōsai substituted tightly plaited bamboo for the basic structure and the central bottle-shaped slat, which holds the cabinet doors in place, and he created the other sections in various plaiting patterns. When open, the doors display depictions of Hanshan and Shide, semilegendary eccentric Chan Buddhist monks active in the eighth century at Guoqingsi, a temple on China’s sacred Mount Tiantai.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 二代飯塚鳳斎造　笈形厨子
  • Title: Shrine Cabinet in the shape of a Mountain Monk’s Backpack (Oi)
  • Artist: Iizuka Hōsai II (Japanese, 1872–1934)
  • Period: Meiji period (1868–1912)
  • Date: 1911
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Timber bamboo and dwarf bamboo, lacquer
  • Dimensions: H. 33 1/16 in. (84 cm); W. 22 13/16 in. (58 cm); D. 20 1/2 in. (52 cm)
  • Classification: Bamboo
  • Credit Line: Gift of Diane Abbey, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.425.6a–i
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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Inkstone Box (Suzuribako) and Document Box (Ryōshibako), Iizuka Hōsai II Japanese, Timber bamboo, rattan, lacquer, and gold powder, Japan
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Large Flower Basket (Hanakago), Iizuka Hōsai II Japanese, Timber bamboo, rattan, and lacquer, Japan
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Returned to lender
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