The Immortal Kume

Suzuki Harunobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This narrow vertical print depicts Kume, a flying immortal who is said to have once come across a beautiful woman and tumbled from the sky. Here, having just encountered her, Kume appears in the guise of a Chinese court official, probably Zhong Kui (Japanese: Shōki), the legendary queller of demons. He lowers a tiny demon holding an even smaller love letter down to the woman bathing in a stream below.

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