Ghost and Oil Lamp

About the Artwork

Tani Bun’ichi was the adopted son of Tani Buncho (1763-1840), a master painter and connoisseur. A Bun’ichi painting remarkably similar to this one that depicts a ghost by a lacquer lamp stand, is in the collection the Tokyo temple Zensho-an. That painting once belonged to Sanyutei Encho (1839-1900), a famed raconteur of ghost stories who donated his collection of ghost paintings to the temple. An inscription in gold on the lamp stand in this painting, identical in content to that on the Zensho-an painting, indicates that it was executed in the 12th month of 1810. Bun’ichi explains that he did not like painting ghosts, but tried it out after listening to a person by the name of Ono.

Inscriptions

artist's inscription on stem of oil lamp

Provenance

?-1992: (Andreas Leisinger, Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1992-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Julie Mehretu: Portals. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 13, 2022).

Quick Overview

Artist: Tani Bun'ichi (Japanese, 1787–1818)
Date: 1810
Medium: hanging scroll, ink, color, and gold on silk
Dimensions: Painting only: 109.2 x 48.9 cm (43 x 19 1/4 in.); Including mounting: 187.3 x 65.4 cm (73 3/4 x 25 3/4 in.)
Type: Painting
Classification: Painting
Department: Japanese Art
Credit line: Kelvin Smith Fund
Accession no.: 1992.71

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