Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Kozuka with Daruma
(Japanese Military Armor)
At the right is Daruma, the 5th- or 6th-century Indian monk who founded Zen Buddhism. The characters on the left say "No merit." This is a reference to a conversation Daruma purportedly had with the emperor of China. When the emperor asked how much merit he had acquired for his good works, Daruma replied, "No merit." Daruma's enigmatic answers to the emperor's other questions also centered on nothingness.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Japan (Place of Origin)
Measurements
3 3/4 in. (9.6 cm) (l.)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.781