Kozuka with the Immortal Gama

Description This kozuka shows the Taoist immortal Gama, with a three-legged frog sitting on his head. Gama's spirit was able to leave his body to wander and once returned to find the body unfit. He put his spirit into the nearest creature, which was a frog. On the reverse is a waterfall and the artist's signature.

Provenance William T. / Henry Walters Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [inscription] 行年六十六; [Transliteration] gyônen rokujûroku; [Translation] Sixty-six years old; [Signature] 橘川元隆; [Translation] Tachikawa Mototaka; [Number] On sticker with blue border: 939

Credit Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters