Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
Demon Intoning the Name of the Buddha
Also known as: Demon Intoning the Name of the Buddha
About the Artwork
Among the subjects of souvenir paintings made since the 1600s in Ōtsu, a travel hub near Kyoto in western Japan, was a demon in monk’s robes reciting the name of the Buddha Amida to the rhythm of his gong. Ōtsu paintings largely disappeared with the advent of rail travel in the late 1800s, as people no longer stopped in the area. In this work, Kyoto-based artist Suzuki Shōnen reimagined the demon for the modern era—the simple figure from the Ōtsu painting is transformed into a realistic one accompanied by a calligraphic meditation on its nature.
Inscriptions
artist's inscription, signature, and seal upper left.
Provenance
?–1991: (David Newman, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) 1991–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Modern Japan. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 14, 2022-June 18, 2023).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Suzuki Shōnen (Japanese, 1849–1918)
- Date
- late 1800s–early 1900s
- Medium
- hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions
- Overall: 194.4 x 61 cm (76 9/16 x 24 in.); Painting only: 106 x 42 cm (41 3/4 x 16 9/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Credit line
- Kelvin Smith Fund
- Accession no.
- 1991.77
More by Suzuki Shōnen in museum collections
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-00010194
Powered by Art Trackers