Kakkyö

Catalog note / 解説

This print depicts a scene from the story of Kakkyo (Guo Ju), from the famous Twenty-Four Paragons of Filial Piety. The story goes: Kakkyo was living with his mother, wife and a three-year old son. They were very poor and had not enough food. Kakkyo's mother was always sharing what little she had with the grandson. Kakkyo and his wife felt so guilty that they decided to sacrifice their son in order to save the mother's life. While sadly digging a hole in order to bury the son, they found a pot of gold with the inscription “This is for Kakkyo, from heaven.” The prints depict Kakkyo thanking heaven for the pot of gold. Beside him are his wife and young child. (from Origilan Intent exhibition…