Daruma in a Boat with an Attendant

Daruma founded Zen Buddhism. During the Edo period, artists frequently parodied him in mitate-e prints, a genre that made visual puns on spiritual and literary figures. Here, a courtesan ferries Daruma across a river, while Daruma plucks his facial hair. In the Edo period, “daruma” was slang for a sex worker, comparing Daruma, who meditated for nine years, to courtesans, who were indentured for ten years to their brothels. The image facetiously juxtaposes the image of Daruma’s vanity with his spirituality. It evokes the term “to pull out one’s nose hair,” implying a man who is dominated by a woman in Edo-era Japanese. The print appears to criticize the courtesan for corrupting the great spiritual leader. Yet Zen Buddhism emphasizes that enlightenment is all beings’ nature. The piece communicates that there is no inherent difference between courtesans and bodhisattvas — a theme apparent in many Edo-era depictions of courtesans.

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