Hanga
Hotei by Ogata Gekko — Japanese Woodblock print

Hotei

by Ogata Gekko

Meiji/Taishō Prints
FiguresMythologyChildren
Medium:
Woodblock print
Format:
Oban

Description

Hotei—the laughing monk with his enormous cloth bag, one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods—was among the most popular and cheerful subjects in Japanese popular art. His enormous belly, his wide smile, the children that typically swarm around him, and the inexhaustible bag from which he dispensed good fortune all gave Gekko rich material for a festive composition. Hotei's Chinese Chan Buddhist origins had been thoroughly naturalized in Japanese popular religion, making him a figure of accessible, undemanding benevolence.

More Prints by Ogata Gekko

MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO by Ogata Gekko

MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO

Woodblock print

Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆 by Ogata Gekko

Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆

Woodblock print

Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図 by Ogata Gekko

Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図

Woodblock print

Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney by Ogata Gekko

Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney

c. 1886–1899

Woodblock print, ink and color on paper

More Figures Prints

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

Shamyris, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki) by Kawanabe Kyosai

Celebrating the Good Harvest: Felicitations for a Thousand Ages (Nôhônen, Chiyo no kotobuki)

Woodblock print

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965? by Hideo Hagiwara

Midas, Shôwa period, dated 1965?

Woodblock print

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962 by Kihei Sasajima

Gundari Myôô, Shôwa period, dated 1962

Woodblock print

Featured in Collections

Curated cross-cuts that include this print.

Japanese Ghost and Yōkai Prints

Frequently Asked Questions

Hotei was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).

Hotei depicts figures, mythology, and children.