Anonymous
Edo period (1615–1868), 19th centuryHe-Gassen (A Farting Contest); a makimono (horizontal narrative scroll), ink and colours on paper with a few manuscript notations, depicting naked and partly clothed courtiers and teams of monks preparing for and engaging in a competition of aggressive flatulence powerful enough to overturn a go board or blow away a courtier's cap, with some unpleasant side effects; the outer silk wrapper with a label Toba-e (Toba painting, see below), the extreme left of the painting with an unidentified seal and inscription tracing the origin of this subject-matter back to Toba Sojo (see footnote); unmounted. Overall: 27.5cm x 765cm (10 7/8in x 300in); image: 27.5cm x 743cm (10 7/8in x 292in).
注脚
Supposedly originated by the artist-monk Toba Sojo (1053-1140), the fart-battle scroll reached the peak of its popularity during the Edo period. Well-known examples include one in the library of Waseda University, a copy made in 1846 of a scroll allegedly painted in 1680 (lavishly reproduced at https://archive.wul.waseda.ac.jp/kosho/chi04/chi04_01029/) and another in the Kawanabe Kyosai Memorial Museum (1867).