The fifth day of the fifth lunar month is traditionally regarded as an "inauspicious month and ominous day". Following ancient customs, people perform rituals to dispel evil spirits, eliminate misfortune, ward off illness and avoid plague—and who better to guard our home than the Divine Lord Zhong Kui?

This Portrait of Zhong Kui is collected in the British Museum, a masterpiece painted by Lü Xue during China’s Qing Dynasty.

The worship of Zhong Kui originated in the Tang Dynasty. Legend has it that a mischievous demon named Xuhao haunted Emperor Xuanzong in his dream, only to be devoured whole by Zhong Kui. This era also marked the peak of Japan’s cultural assimilation of advanced Chinese civilization. Alongside the imperial envoys sent to Tang China, the faith in Zhong Kui spread to Japan, where he was revered as a deity capable of exorcising malevolence and safeguarding homes.

Japanese folk traditions boast a rich variety of ways to honor Zhong Kui: hanging koi streamers painted with his likeness, crafting scarecrows in his image, placing Zhong Kui-shaped roof tiles to protect residences, and displaying portraits and statues of him indoors. Consequently, depictions of Zhong Kui became a popular theme in Japanese fine art.

The Zhong Kui portrayed by Okumura Masanobu features vivid, exaggerated facial expressions and a powerful, steady physique. It embodies the distinct artistic style of Japanese ukiyo-e while preserving the classic characteristics of traditional Chinese Zhong Kui iconography.

The artist ingeniously utilized the narrow vertical composition. Zhong Kui’s imposing figure is partially concealed yet revealed, leaning slightly forward as if about to step out of the painting, exuding an overwhelming imposing aura. At the sight of him, demons, pestilence spirits and the Xuhao ghost will surely flee in terror.