# Portrait of Ōzora Buzaemon

**Watanabe Kazan** (Japanese, 1793–1841)  
1827  
hanging scroll; ink and color on paper  
Image: 221.8 x 117.8 cm (87 5/16 x 46 3/8 in.); Overall: 256.8 x 131 cm (101 1/8 x 51 9/16 in.); with knobs: 256.8 x 140.5 cm (101 1/8 x 55 5/16 in.)

Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1980.177. [The museum's record](https://clevelandart.org/art/1980.177).

## About this work

Over seven feet tall, Ōzora Buzaemon became a tabloid sensation when he arrived in Edo (Tokyo) in 1827 . His handprints were cherished souvenirs, and his image was sold on woodblock prints. As inscriptions on the scroll detail, Watanabe Kazan met Buzaemon at the residence of a noted Confucian scholar. Using a camera obscura–type device—a tool that uses light to project an image onto a surface—he made this preliminary drawing for a painting. The portrayal depicts Buzaemon’s discomfort in being stared at.

_Text from the Cleveland Museum of Art._

Watanabe Kazan painted this in 1827, aged 34. 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.

### [Watanabe Kazan](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/watanabe-kazan)

Japanese, 1793–1841

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- The artist was 34
- Real size: about 101 × 52 in (257 × 131 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 18 × 24 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: olive
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/712.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/712/1920.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/portrait-of-ozora-buzaemon-cma-149943).