Buddha’s Hand Citron (Busshukan)

Katsushika Hokusai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This meticulously rendered painting of an unusually shaped variety of citron, whose fruit is segmented into fingerlike sections, shows the influence of Western botanical studies. In Japanese, this exotic fruit is called busshukan 仏手柑, literally "Buddha’s Hand Citron." Native to the Himalayas, the subject was appreciated by Bunjin (literati) painters, and is the subject of a poem in Chinese “Koto and Buddha’s Hand in Springtime” by renowned historian, poet, and calligrapher Rai San’y (1780–1832). The painting does not seem to have any connection to Katsushika Hokusai except that it has a seal, rendered in cursive characters and kana that have been deciphered as Katsushika 葛しか. But since the shapes of the characters vary a bit from accepted variants, we can assume the seal was added a later time by a dealer who wanted give added luster to an anonymous painting.

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