# Beggar (Kojiki)

**Hirafuku Suian** (Japanese, 1844–1890)  
1871  
hanging scroll; ink on paper  
Overall: 215.3 x 93 cm (84 3/4 x 36 5/8 in.); Painting only: 141 x 70.8 cm (55 1/2 x 27 7/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1988.73. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1988.73).

## About this work

The Japanese term for beggar, kojiki, derives from the word kotsujiki, which refers to Buddhist monks taking bowls from door to door to request sustenance. The son of the artist Suian Bunrō, Suian Hirafuku was born in Kakunodate in Japan’s northern Akita prefecture. When he was 16, he went to study in Kyoto. In 1880 he took first place with another painting titled Beggar at the third Akita Prefectural Industrial Exposition, and in 1890, he took second prize for technical achievement with Nursing Tigress at the third National Industrial Exposition.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Hirafuku Suian painted this in 1871, aged 27. It is now at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

### How it was made

- **Hanging scroll.** A painting mounted on silk with a wooden roller at the foot. It was rolled up for storage and brought out to hang for a season, a guest or an occasion.
- **Ink on paper.** Ink made from soot and animal glue, ground with water on an inkstone. A single brush can give a hair-fine line or a broad wash, and nothing can be corrected.

### [Hirafuku Suian](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/hirafuku-suian)

Japanese, 1844–1890

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
- The artist was 27
- Real size: about 85 × 37 in (215 × 93 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/744.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/744/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/beggar-kojiki-cma-154263).