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Offering Pails of Water by Katsushika Hokusai — Japanese Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper, c. 1790

Offering Pails of Water

by Katsushika Hokusai

Date:
c. 1790
Medium:
Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
Format:
Oban
Dimensions:
21.1 × 15.3 cm

Description

A religious or ritual figure makes an offering of water using ceremonial pails in this nishiki-e (brocade print) from around 1790, the act of water offering being a purification rite performed at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. The careful rendering of the pails' wooden construction and the formality of the figure's posture convey the solemnity of a devotional act embedded within everyday religious practice.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Offering Pails of Water was created by Katsushika Hokusai (葛飾北斎) in c. 1790.

Offering Pails of Water depicts figures, temples & shrines, and religious.

Offering Pails of Water measures 21.1 × 15.3 cm (Oban format).