Daruma, the First Zen Buddhist Patriarch

Hidemasa I (Japanese, active late 18th-early 19th century) (Artist)

early 19th century (Edo period (1603–1868))

sperm whale tooth, ink
(Japan and Korea )

Daruma is the monk credited with founding Zen Buddhism in Japan. This netsuke (toggle) may be referencing a story, whereby Daruma, frustrated with himself because he kept falling asleep while meditating, cut off his own eyelids and threw them to the ground. The eyelids eventually grew into tea trees.

Inscription

[Signature] Hidemasa

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.

Exhibitions

1978	Netsuke: Miniature Sculpture of Japan. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore.

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Geographies

Japan (Place of Origin)

Measurements

H: 1 7/16 × W: 1 5/16 × D: 13/16 in. (3.6 × 3.3 × 2.1 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters

Location in Museum

Centre Street: Fourth Floor: Across Asia - Arts of Asia and the Islamic World

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

71.955

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