Woodblock Print by Signature Reads As "Koen": Daruma, Framed

A few great sweeps of the brush make the robe. The eyebrows took more care.

Daruma is a framed Japanese woodblock print from the Meiji Period (1868 – 1912 CE), ink on paper, with a signature that reads as "Koen." Daruma, the Japanese name for Bodhidharma, is traditionally regarded as the founder of Zen Buddhism and is usually shown with a fierce, wide-eyed gaze. Here he peers out from a bald head with bushy brows, a beard and a heavy earring. His robe is reduced to bold black and gray brushstrokes curving around him. Script and two red seals sit at the right of the toned paper. The image is 11.8 inches wide and 15 high, framed at 26.5 by 30.

He looks like he has been meditating on something faintly irritating.