The bodhisattva Samantabhadra (Japanese: Fugen) on an Elephant

This print depicts Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva of benevolence, seated on the elephant he usually rides, with his right leg bent upward. It is one of a series and was originally paired with an image of Manjushri (Japanese: Monju), the bodhisattva of wisdom, riding a lion. These two deities traditionally flank the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. In this print, the elephant is difficult to make out because its skin is busily patterned with leaf-like designs. The wood-grain lines across the deity's body tell us that the artist chose to leave the block unplaned.

Munakata's work is dominated by Buddhist themes. Believing that the color black has strong expressive power, he generally limited his technique to single-block monochrome prints. Sometimes, as in this print, he added a few brilliant colors with a brush. Vital and prolific, the artist produced many prints, large and small.

Munakata studied briefly in the 1920s with Hiratsuka Un'ichi, whose prints are also shown here. In the 1930s, his work caught the eye of Yanagi Soetsu—founder of the Mingei (folk craft) movement—to whom this print series is dedicated. Thanks to Yanagi's early mentoring and patronage, Munakata later attracted widespread recognition, winning awards in major international print shows in the 1950s. Thereafter, he maintained a prominent position as one of the bestknown modern print artists in Japan and abroad.