MURASE SOSEKI (1822–1877) Ink-on-paper kakejiku depicting the mallet of Daikoku, one of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, and a pair of rats. With colophon and signature: ‘In the Pavilion of the Iridescent Clouds’. “Painted by Sôseki, one day in the Year of the Elder Wood Rat” (1864); seals: Sôseki, Untei. (Minor soiling and slight creases). Japan, 19th century. About the artist: Soseki was a painter of the Shijô school, a pupil of Keibun. Included is a KAKEJIKU in ink and colours on paper, depicting Ebisu and Daikoku, two of the Seven Gods of Good Fortune, surmounted by two inscriptions, each relating to the respective deity, and two seals: on the left, “Miho Shrine in Izumo” (Miho-jinja); on the right, ‘Great Shrine of Izumo Province’ (Izumo taisha), two shrines in Shimane Prefecture where Ebisu and Daikoku can be worshipped respectively. (Scuffs and creases). Japan, Meiji period, 19th–early 20th centuries. Note This type of painting was no doubt sold in these shrines to pilgrims and tourists. TWO INK-ON-PAPER KAKEJIKU DEPICTING THE GODS OF HAPPINESS, ONE BY SOSEKI, JAPAN, 19TH–EARLY 20TH CENTURIES DIM. 60 X 26.5 CM (23 5/8 X 10 7/16 IN.) - 63.5 X 28.5 CM (25 X 11 1/4 IN.)