from the series One Hundred Pictures by Kyôsai (Kyôsai hyakuzu)

Kyōsai hyakuzu includes several sheets devoted to Buddhist iconography, filtered through Kyōsai's idiosyncratic irreverence. This print likely depicts Daruma (Bodhidharma), the semi-legendary Indian monk who transmitted Chan Buddhism to China — a subject with a long history in Zen-affiliated ink painting and one that Kyōsai returned to repeatedly across his career. Daruma compositions typically show the patriarch's broad-shouldered red robe, heavy-lidded eyes, and fierce expression rendered with minimal but precisely placed brushwork. Kyōsai's version tends toward caricature without becoming disrespectful: the lines are swift, the form monumental within the picture plane, and the gaze confrontational. In the woodblock translation, the deep vermilion robe was likely printed in multiple passes to achieve the saturated tone associated with the subject, while the patriarch's dark beard and fierce eyes required the finest chisel work from the block carvers. The image carries the meditative weight of the ink-painting tradition even in this popular format.