Portrait of Duli Xingyi

Also known as: Portrait of the Chinese Priest Dokuritsu; Portrait of Duli Xingyi (1596-1672)

About the Artwork

In this portrait, the Ōbaku school Buddhist monk Duli Xingyi (born Tai Li, 1596–1672), whose name is pronounced Dokuryū Shōeki in Japanese, sits upon a woven mat holding a ceremonial scepter known as a ruyi, or nyoi in Japanese. Above his head is an insciption he added to the painting in 1671, the year before his death. It may be translated to read: Contemplative emptiness: the moon suspended over the village at midnight. Suddenly my soul is startled by the howl of an ape. Who could know that it would arouse me beyond my senses, and bring me an inner vision from Mt. Sumeru. (translated by Stephen Addiss and Kwan S. Wong) Originally from what is now the city of Hangzhou in China, Duli emigrated to Japan in 1653, where he took monastic vows. His skills in calligraphy and seal carving were formidable. Painter Kita Genki combined Chinese brush styles he learned in Nagasaki with Western painting techniques to capture Duli's likeness.

Inscriptions

1671 inscription at top of scroll by Duli Xingyi with three seals, 東矣䪩 (prefatory), 遺世獨立 (top) , 天外一閒人 (bottom); seal of Genki at lower left of painting 元規 .

Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27-November 14, 1965). Obaku: Zen Painting and Calligraphy. Helen Foresman Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, KS (organizer) (April 8-May 31, 1978); New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA (June 15-August 6, 1978). Journey of the Three Jewels: Japanese Buddhist Paintings in Western Collections. Asia House Galleries, New York City, NY (organizer) (October 11-December 9, 1979); Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO (March 27-May 11, 1980). 日本の仏教を築いた人びと: その肖像と書 (Those Who Built Japanese Buddhism: Portraits and Calligraphy). Nara National Museum, Nara 630, Japan (organizer) (April 29-June 7, 1981). Reflections of Reality in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 16-May 1, 1983). Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984). The Art of Obaku. Kyoto National Museum (organizer) (October 5-November 7, 1993). Admired from Afar: Masterworks of Japanese Painting from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (January 15-February 23, 2014); Kyushu National Museum, Fukuoka, Japan (July 8-August 31, 2014).

Quick Overview

Artist: Kita Genki (Japanese, active c. 1664–98)
Date: 1671
Medium: hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Painting: 111.4 x 50.1 cm (43 7/8 x 19 3/4 in.); Mounted: 211.8 x 63.8 cm (83 3/8 x 25 1/8 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Japanese Art
Credit line: Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession no.: 1965.31

Provenance

?–1965: (N. V. Hammer, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1965–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.