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Guo Ju (Kakkyo) Discovers a Pot of Gold as He Digs a Grave to Bury His Infant Son so He May Provide More for His Aged Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety
Guo Ju (Kakkyo) Discovers a Pot of Gold as He Digs a Grave to Bury His Infant Son so He May Provide More for His Aged Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

Guo Ju (Kakkyo) Discovers a Pot of Gold as He Digs a Grave to Bury His Infant Son so He May Provide More for His Aged Mother, from the series A Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety

Artist/Maker (Japanese, 1797–1861)
Publisher
Dateca. 1840
MediumColor woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
DimensionsHorizontal ōban; overall: 9 15/16 × 14 1/2 in. (25.3 × 36.8 cm)
Credit LineMary A. Ainsworth Bequest
PortfolioA Mirror for Children of the Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety (Nijushiko doji kagami)
Object number1950.563
Status
Not on view
More Information
In one of the more extreme tales in the series, the noble but poverty-stricken Guō Jù 郭巨, Kakkyo in Japanese, realized that he was unable to feed his family. He and his wife make the unimaginable decision to sacrifice their son so that they could support Guō Jù’s mother and themselves, thinking that they could have another child in the future but not another mother. They dig a hole to bury the boy alive but discover a pot of gold with a message from the gods saying it is a gift from Heaven honoring Guō Jù’s filial piety.
Exhibition History
Transformations: Chinese Themes and Images in Japanese Woodblock Prints
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (March 12, 1996 - May 27, 1996 )
Inspirations: Global Dialogue Through the Arts
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 5, 2023 - May 31, 2025 )
Collections
  • Asian
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.
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ca. 1840
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ca. 1840
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