Portrait of Budai

Muqi, inscription by Jianweng Jujing

Southern Song to Yuan dynasty (China) 13th century

Ink on paper

Kyushu National Museum

A sketch of a bald, plump figure with a wide smile, holding something in their cupped hands. Calligraphy is present above the figure. A sketch of a bald, plump figure with a wide smile, holding something in their cupped hands. Calligraphy is present above the figure. This figure smiling flamboyantly with his great belly exposed is Budai, a Buddhist monk in the Tang dynasty China (618–907), who was believed to be an incarnation of Maitreya. According to Buddhist belief, Maitreya is a Bodhisattva who will descend to this world in the future as a savior. His untidy hair, beard, dark circles under the eyes, and wrinkles around the eyes and mouth are drawn by carefully superimposing many thin lines in a light shade. On the other hand, his robe and the left hand are dra