TAKEUCHI Seihō

The proverb "a horse from a gourd" is often used as an analogy for something unexpected popping up from an unexpected place.The immortal Zhang Guolao was a magician who performed many magical tricks from the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties period, and many stories about him were written about him. He later became an object of worship and was incorporated as one of the Eight Immortals.Zhang Guolao is said to have traveled tens of thousands of miles a day on his white donkey. When he wanted to rest, he would fold the donkey like paper and put it in a drawer box, and when he got back on, he would spray water on it to restore it to its original shape.This is the story and legend, but in Japan the box has been transformed into a gourd and the donkey into a horse.This is a subject that often appears in painting ceramics.While he is generally depicted carrying a gourd on his back and riding a donkey backwards, the depiction of a small donkey popping out of the gourd in this work is straightforward and humorous.