Rosei yume no zu 盧生夢之図 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆

This print from Gekko's celebrated Gekko zuihitsu (月耕随筆) series, published between 1891 and 1894, depicts the Chinese legend of Rosei (Lu Sheng), who falls asleep at an inn and dreams an entire lifetime of wealth, power, and worldly success while his millet porridge is still cooking. The subject — borrowed from Tang dynasty literature and long circulated in Japan as a parable on the vanity of ambition — invited dreamlike compositions juxtaposing the sleeping figure with visions of rank, prosperity, and ceremony. Gekko likely rendered Rosei in Chinese-style robes, perhaps with a millet pot visible at his side, while dream imagery unfolds around him. The Gekko zuihitsu series drew on an unusually wide range of literary, historical, and legendary subjects, and this sheet reflects Gekko's willingness to engage classical Chinese source material alongside Japanese themes.