Priest Burning Cherry Branches, Buddhist Allegory

A bald, bearded man in loose robes crouches on the ground, gripping an upright axe-like tool with a dark handle. Ink wash shapes his body and dark garments, with pale tinted robes and soft pink and white blossoms scattered in the lower left. The setting is bare, with a plain pale paper background.

Artist

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849)

Date

1760-1849

Medium

Ink and color on paper

Source

Smithsonian (National Museum of Asian Art)

Size

2957 × 2186 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Asian Art