Fox with Staff (Hakuzōsu)

Eiraku Hozen

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Kyoto potter with close ties to the literati in his city and a similar taste for Chinese styles, Hozen was known for his highly colored wares and for his use of gold. A different side of his urbanity comes through in this rather personal painting, perhaps tempered by the business failures he experienced in his later years. A few economic brush strokes create the figure of a fox-priest, the protagonist in the comic kyōgen play The Fox Trapper (Kirigitsune). The enigmatic poem cautions: Beware of those who have renounced the world although they wear the robes of priests at heart they are foxes still.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art