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Tosa Mitsuoki — Monju Bodhisattva (Manjushri), Gibbon and Cranes
Tosa Mitsuoki

Monju Bodhisattva (Manjushri), Gibbon and Cranes

This hanging scroll by Tosa Mitsuoki depicts Monju (Manjushri), the bodhisattva of wisdom, seated on a lion and accompanied by attendants, while a playful gibbon and elegant cranes populate the composition's natural setting. The work exemplifies the Tosa school's characteristic refined yamato-e style, blending Buddhist iconography with observational studies of animals rendered in delicate mineral pigments on silk. Created during Japan's Edo period, the painting demonstrates the sophisticated integration of religious subject matter with secular aesthetic pleasures typical of elite Japanese artistic patronage.

🔨 Auction Lot

Japanese and Korean Art

March 24, 2026

Estimate: $7,000$9,000

Lot 31

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Tosa Mitsuoki, Monju Bodhisattva (Manjushri), Gibbon and Cranes

This hanging scroll by Tosa Mitsuoki depicts Monju (Manjushri), the bodhisattva of wisdom, seated on a lion and accompanied by attendants, while a playful gibbon and elegant cranes populate the composition's natural setting. The work exemplifies the Tosa school's characteristic refined yamato-e style, blending Buddhist iconography with observational studies of animals rendered in delicate mineral pigments on silk. Created during Japan's Edo period, the painting demonstrates the sophisticated integration of religious subject matter with secular aesthetic pleasures typical of elite Japanese artistic patronage.

Seen at
Christie's, London, United Kingdom

Related themes

Monju Bodhisattva, Japanese Artist, Hanging Scroll, Tosa school, Ink and Color on Paper, Edo Period, 17th Century, Nature And Wildlife, Buddhist Iconography, serene and spiritual

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Collected by

Art Institute of Chicago