Daruma in a Boat with an Attendant

Suzuki Harunobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A young woman poles a boat for a man wearing a red, hooded robe who leans over the side of the boat and uses his reflection to pluck stray hairs from his scruffy beard. This is an unusual display of vanity for Bodhidharma, who is traditionally shown crossing the Yangzi River on a reed that he plucked from the bank on his way to spread Zen teachings in China. Parodies of Bodhidharma (Japanese: Daruma) were common in the Edo period, when some unregulated sex workers were colloquially dubbed daruma in winking reference to the rhythms of their working lives being like the years Daruma spent meditating in a cave.

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