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Rabbit and Roses

Painting by Mori Ransai Japanese
Inscription by Jiun Sonja Japanese
ca. 1776–83
Not on view
A rabbit crouches by a boulder and a rose bush with vibrant leaves and blossoms. Mori Ransai’s polychrome technique belongs to a tradition established by the Chinese painter Shen Nanpin (active 1725–80) in Nagasaki. The inscription, brushed by the Shingon monk Jiun Onkō, echoes a Zen teaching that asserts that all beings, including inanimate objects, can reach enlightenment. It reads:

有情非情同時成道ときけばげに
うれしくもあるがか 法の友どち

I’m truly delighted to hear it said that “Sentient beings or insentient beings, at the same time, can attain the Way [of spiritual enlightenment],” for those that pursue the Buddhist law together.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 森蘭斎筆 慈雲飲光賛 薔薇に兎図
  • Title: Rabbit and Roses
  • Artist: Painting by Mori Ransai (Japanese, 1731–1801)
  • Artist: Inscription by Jiun Sonja (Japanese, 1718–1804)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1776–83
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 42 5/8 × 16 9/16 in. (108.3 × 42 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 80 5/16 × 24 1/8 in. (204 × 61.2 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.420.26
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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