Wind God

Painted primarily in ink and ink wash on paper, this hanging scroll presents the Wind God Fūjin, a demon-like spirit who carries the wind in a large sack. In this whimsical rendering, a horned Wind God with bulging eyes and beastly talons is forcefully propelled backwards as he releases the wind from his enormous bag, the voluminous sack creating a round, moon-like expanse of white behind him. Graded ink washes around the figure suggest clouds, and a touch of red pigment on the mouth adds a note of ferocity to this otherwise playful depiction. The signature and seal of artist Kobayashi Eitaku (1843-1890) appear at the lower left corner of the composition.