Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
The Japanese term for beggar, kojiki, derives from the word kotsujiki, which refers to Buddhist monks taking bowls from door to door to request sustenance. The son of the artist Suian Bunrō, Suian Hirafuku was born in Kakunodate in Japan’s northern Akita prefecture. When he was 16, he went to study in Kyoto. In 1880 he took first place with another painting titled Beggar at the third Akita Prefectural Industrial Exposition, and in 1890, he took second prize for technical achievement with Nursing Tigress at the third National Industrial Exposition.
Exhibition history
The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989). Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - July 2017-January 2018. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (July 15, 2017-January 2, 2018).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Hirafuku Suian (Japanese, 1844–1890)
- Date
- 1871
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 215.3 x 93 cm (84 3/4 x 36 5/8 in.); Painting only: 141 x 70.8 cm (55 1/2 x 27 7/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1988.73
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010101
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