“The Hunchbacked Monk” from Diseases and Deformities

Diseases and Deformities (Yamai no sōshi) is a handscroll depicting people suffering from rare ailments and their symptoms. This segment features a severely hunchbacked beggar monk walking toward the left, a pilgrim’s staff in hand. The monk’s neck has stiffened in a position that makes him unable to raise his head, forcing him to walk with his head down all the time. This posture subjected him to ridicule from those around him. Diseases is believed to be a pictorial representation of strange illnesses resulting from past life karma, as taught in Buddhist scriptures. Its artistic style greatly resembles that of Tokiwa Mitsunaga, a painter who worked under Retired Emperor Goshirakawa (1127–92) in the late 12th century.

Mitsunaga created the Hell Scroll (Jigoku-zōshi; National Treasure, Tokyo National Museum) and the Stories of Hungry Ghosts (Gakki-zōshi; National Treasure, Kyoto National Museum). As such, it is highly likely that Diseases was also painted at the same time and place as those works. Along with several other segments (including the National Treasure at Kyoto National Museum), this was once part of a single handscroll that had been passed down by the Sekido family in Nagoya. It has since been remounted into its current form as a hanging scroll.

— Museum description: Kyushu National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.