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Description
Back to back print. A withered man in tattered robes, with a deadened look on his face, sits in a chair with a candle on his head; he is viewed with shock by a younger man. In late 6th - early 7th centuries, Japan sent several embassies to China to bring back religious and secular learning. The popular legend has it that Karu no Daijin was sent on one of these embassies. For reasons unknown, the Emperor of China had him tortured, made a mute, and condemned to serve as a candlestick in the Imperial gardens. He was then called the Demon Candlestick. In 656 his son, Hitsu No Saisho Haruhira, came to China on an embassy. As he passed through the Imperial gardens his father recognised him. Mute, Karu bit his finger and used his blood as ink to write a poem identifying himself. Hitsu, recognizing his father, brought him back to Japan. (Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art.)
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