A skeleton sits among the dried grasses, alone and forgotten, perhaps reflecting on his life in this earie painting by Buddhist priest Higuchi Ryuon dated Meiji 15 (1882). Ink on paper, it is 75 x 184 cm (29-1/2 x 72-1/2 inches) and is in fine condition having been completely remounted in a border of black with colorful piping and features bone rollers.
Higuchi Ryuon (1800－1885) was a priest of the Jodo sect of Buddhism active from the later Edo through the Meiji periods. Born in Aizu (modern day Fukushima) he studied at the Higashi Honganji Takakura Gakuryo and served at Onjoji in Omi (modern day Shiga Prefecture) as well as Chishakkuin in Kyoto before becoming head priest of Enkoji Temple in Kyoto. He has recently come to attention when it was discovered he had a copy of the Bible in his personal effects.
