BackNo.67
JULY 1937
This summary is compiled by Mr. TAKASHI KATSUKI.
STUDIES ON THE SUBJECT OF THE MOUNTED WARRIOR IN JAPANESE PORTRAIT PAINTING (PART I)
By SHIN-ICHI TANI
From the standpoint of numbers the portraiture of the warrior occupies an important part in Japanese portrait painting. They were naturauy done in a different style from those of the nobles and priests and also from a different conception. In this paper the writer, under the present title, explains the significance peculiar to the portrait painting of the warrior using a certain particular example of a mounted warrior ready to go to war, and refering to the necessary studies concerned. An interesting fact is that the writer throws light on a question concerning the sitter of a warrior's portrait in opposition to the traditional theory.
Among extant examples of this kind those of Yoritomo Minamoto, the first Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, now in the possession of Jingo-ji Temple, Kyoto, and of Shigemori Taira of the same Temple are known as the oldest. These warriors, however, are shown attired in the ceremonial court dress of the times, instead of in armour. We can consider, accordingly, that this style was the oldest style of dress in which the warrior made his appearance in the portrait.
Although this style lasted until later periods the other style used in the watrrior's portrait, that is to say, the priestly style, appeared for the first time around the middle of the Kamakura period. It was the result of the strong influence of Zen Buddhism on the warrior class.
Generauy speaking, therefore, the portraiture of the warrior was of two kinds. But, after the Muromachi period the warrior's portraiture came to be produced in a new style--dressed in armour.
Examining carefully the records and conditions under which the portrait was made the writer, first of all, discusses the famous so-called "portrait of Takauji Ashikaga" which is Presumed to be the earliest example in the new style. In the middle ages the nobles used to have their own portraits which were necessary when the ceremonial service for their ancesters was held. They were made either from life or after the death of the individual.
In the case of the "Portrait of Takauji Ashikaga" the portrait was made in the Shogun Takauji's life time according to the old records of the mid-Muromachi period and beside this other portraits and statues of Shogun Takauji which wereproduced immediately following his death are also known. We are likewise informed that some portraits among them were also painted in the style of the mounted warrior.
According to the Shuko Jusshu and the Koko Gafu, both of which were written after the end of the Tokugawa period, the portraits of Shogun Takauji as a mounted warrior fall into more than three different kinds as seen in the remaining works. The writer discloses careful studies on each kind and the first to be introduced is one known as the "portrait of Takauji Ashikaga" of Jizo-in Temple (Pl. II).
However, upon comparing this portrait to the old records the writer discovered that this is not of Shogun Takauji but must be of Yoshihisa, the ninth Shogun, instead. The significance of this discovery lies not only in its service in clarifying the original motive in the making of the portrait of the Shogun Yoshihisa, but, at the same time, is considered highly important material which can also be applied to the case of the production of the mounted warrior portraits in general.
SEIGAI SAKURAMA AND HIS WORK
By TEIZO SUGANUMA
The writer's personal interest in Seigai Sakurama derives from his fascination for the landscape paintings by the same artist which had also been praised by Kazan Watanabe, the famous artist in the School of Literary Men's Painting. Of the life of Seigai we find nothing in the books on artists which were published before the Meiji period. More recently the biographical studies on Seigai appeared in the Kokka, Nos., 316 and 317, as well as in other treatises but the former have long been considered one of tne most reliable sources in spite of the fact that there was involved spurious information.
With the present writer's paper the biography of the artist is as nearly complete as we can attempt with the materials known so far. The writer reveals a sympathetic attitude toward the artist describing not only his art but his human side also.
Born Zenjiro Sakurama, the second son of the Sakurama family in Edo, the present Tokyo, in the sixth year of Temmei (1786) he was later, at the age of forty-eight, made successor to a relative with the same name. The history of his new family which belonsed to the semurai class is traced as far back as the sixteenth century. The new famity, vassal of a feadal lord for generations, also belonged to the samurai class.
Seigai was very fond of painting and started training under an artist by the name of Toin Katagiri (d. 1824) who was well known particularlly for his figure painting (fig., p. 13). Seigai attained such development in his art by the time he had reached thirty-three years of age that he became the teacher of a son of his feudal lord, according to the old record. It is atso known that Seigai changsd his brash name Usen for Seigai five years later. All his works bearing the name of Seigai, therefore, will be recognised as those done after the age of thirty-eight. Various brush names were employed by Seigai during his life time: Usen first, Seigai later and also Usai or Sojunken.
The famous painter Kazan was attracted to Seigai not only by his works but by his personality and the two men became intimate friends; when the latter was in great poverty--he was poor all his hife and a bachelor--Kazan gave him whatever assistance he could. Issai Tako (d. 1857) who was Seigai's fellow artist in the studio of their teacher, Toin, was also an invaluable friend of Seigai. This is attested by the hand-written manuscript, now in the possession of the Tako family.
As may be seen from the drawing accompanying the text (fig., p. 15), Seigai was a queer looking man with an unproportionally big head, shaven as tea-masters and physicians of the time are shown with shaven heads, and narrowed eyes. Furthermore, he was a short, fat man, according to contemporary records. This portrait, done by Kinkoku Yamamoto known as one of the ten most gifted pupils of Kazan, bears the inscription with the name of the artist as that of Seigai Yamanaka instead of Seigai Sakurama. A question arises, therefore, regarding Seigai's family name. The present writer, however, after careful examination of the records admits that the name of Yamanaka was also used for some time by the artist although the origin of this name is unknown as yet.
In his hermit-like daily life the inveterate habit of drinking grew to such a dgree that he forsot the invitations of his feudal lord; and again, his unworldly nature often caused him to decline the request of notables for the drawing of pictures. Did he spend all his income including the hereditaty pension given by his feudal lord on drinking? Readers may think so, but as a matter of fact, Seigai gave generously tu his brother-in-law who had a large family and was poor. This honest, warm-hearted trait in his personality enabled him to produce only the refined landscape paintings in which the true spirit of the school of Literary Men's Painting was well represented.
In the course of time Seigai's most respected friend Kazan (d. 1841) and Issai passed away one after the other and finally in solitary surroundings Seigai himself died in Edo in the fourth year of Kaei (1851).
His paintings have by no means been popular among people and in spite of extensive investigation the writer came across only a little more than one hundred examples all told. Fortunately, Seigai was well represented by thirty works from various private collections including his teacher Toin's when the present writer delivered a lecture on Seigai at the Institute of Art Research in the monthly meeting.
The earlitst example among those bearing that date of execution is the "Portrait of Itsuhachi Miyahara" (fig., p. 17) in which Mr. Miyahara, a friend of the artist, is apparently enjoying conversation with two visitors. This portrait was painted in 1825 when he was thirty-nine. In this painting we find his signature Seigai and a seal read as Usen. A year before the artist had changed his brush name Usen for Seigai. Notwithstanding, his old name Usen was still used-probably he felt some regtet at relinquishing the old one.
Among his remaining works only one is known as that which was painted before the artist had changed his first brush name. Another, the "Portrait of Confucious" (fig., p. 19) which is painted on silk in color seems to have been done right after he discarded his brush name, in which is still shown the strong influence of Toin. Around this period Seigai's preference in subject-matter was generally portrait and his attempt to give tht picture a poetic atmosphere is also shown by the addition of landscape to the background of the portrait.
However, the art of Seigai is represented most succeassfully in the landscaps paintings among which the earliest example known so far bears the date of the eleventh year of Bunsei (1828) when he was forty-two. The color scheme had not reached its full development as seen in his later warks: fig., p. 21, now, in the possession of the Imperial Household Museum of Tokyo and fig., p. 22, in a private collection. In the one was see the influences of Kazan and Buncho in style and in the other those of the Ch'ing paintings.
Now the question comes up as to when he reached the peak of his maturity in art. In answer to this question the present exponent must introduce here another landscape (Pl. III) which is in the private collection of Mr. Sho Miyamoto. This unusual composition, the refined techniqus and delicate color harmony in which he depicts this early spring dawn landscape are quite satisfactorily employed and this work may well be considered one of his masterpieces. Judging from the date written (1844) in the upper right-hand corner of the picture Seigai was fifty-eight at the time. His art, therefore, is surmised to have flourished in his fifties. Both "Viewing Maple-Leaves" (Pl., VI, i) and "Landscape" (Pl., VI, ii) belong to his later works and his mature style is well observed in them.
In his figure paintings produced in this later period, however, as seen in the examples "Fisherman and Child" (Pl., VII, i) and "Forbearance of Han Hsin" (Pl., VII, ii), especially in the case of the latter, the poetic and easy qualities gave way to the grotesque; the brush strokes became heavy and sinuous and the color took on a somberness. This abrupt decadence of his art was largely the result of his daily living in which he indulged himself in drinking day and night.
Seigai's paintings of birds and flowers, we are told. were, next to his landscap, most highly appreciated. However, the remaining example are so extremely few that we can introduce here only two of them--"Flower and Bird", painted on paper (Pl., VIII) and the other having the same title and painted on wooden panels (Pl. IV).
In the former the handling of brushes in the traditional manner of his School shows a masterfulness. Dominant are the swift brush strokes dashed on with something of a careless ease but each object is represented with a certain simplicity. The pewerful expression and the refined color scheme suggest to us that this must have been done sometime after the artist's best period although it lacks the date of execution.
This latter was originally designed and used as sliding doors in the mansion of the feudal lord Honda although they have since been made over into a two-fold panel screen, and are treasured by Viscount Tadaaki Honda, a descendant of the same feudal lord. On one side, as seen here (Pl., IV), under kaido blossoms a pair of peacocks with a young one are painted among Chinese peonies in a highly decorative manner. The gorgeous color of gold, green, red, white and blue very effectively lends to the picture a sense of solemnity in addition to it accuracy in technique. Seigai, of course, must have put forth his best efforts in response to the honor of an apoointment by the feudal lord but there are found very rarely artists in the same School, whose artistic talent may be compared with that of Seigai at this time.
On the other side of the same panels was painted a landscape with a poet-sage and his attendant boy. These are also achieved in his characteristic style. Unfortunately, these panels bear neither signature nor seel of the artist but it is beyond dispute that these paintings were made in the period in which his art reached its maturity.
Finally, examination of the various seals (Pl. IX) used by the artist reveals a certain regularity in the use of them from the middle to the later periods. However, seals are often unaccompanied by any date. To classify all by definite periods is, therefore, practically impossible.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES
Pl. I Mahapratisarah.
Color on silk. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 113.5 cm.; width: 108.2 cm.
Kanshin-ji Temple, Osaka.
Explanation by Hajime Watanabe.
Not only in Japan but also on the continent the popular belief in Mahapratisarah was manifested, at least, in an example of the Mandala produced in wood cut dated 980 A. D., which was discovered by Sir Aurel Stein at Tun-huang, Ckina. In Japan the deity was considered the god of birth and pictorial reproductions of the deity are thought to have flourished among believers. However, relatively rare are remaining examples and among those which are considered to be comparatively early productions there seems to be no other but the present work which is now in the possion of Kanshin-ji Temple, Osaka.
As seen here (Pl. I) the present work retains the strict style of its execution and seems to have been done according to the rule of esoteric Buddhism. However, its own peculiality of execution suggest to us that it must have been done by different hands from those which belonged to the Daijoji school of painting.
As for the date of the present picture in reference to the aforementioned features the interpreter places it between the Fujiwara and Kamakura periods--more likely in the latter in which iconograghical development reached its zenith--and also the fully developed style of this work is more characteristic of the work of the same period. This is not simply an unusual example of its kind in which Mahapratisarah is taken as the subjet matter but must be regarded as a masterpiece among many other paintings of esoteric Buddhism in Japan.
Pl. II Mounted Warrior, Yoshihisa Ashikaga, the ninth Shogun of the Ashikaga Shogunate.
color on silk. Mounted as Kakemono.
Height: 97 cm.; width: 56g cm.
Jizo-in Temple, Aichi.
(See the article by Shin-ichi Tani) .
PI. III Landscape, by Seigai Sakurama (Japanese. 1786-1851).
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 130 cm.; width: 58.3 cm.
Collection of Mr. Sho Miyamoto, Tokyo.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)
Pl. IV Flowers and Birds, by the same artist.
In color. Mounted as two-fold panel.
Height: 160 cm.; width: 77.3 cm.
Collection of Viscount Tadaaki Honda, Tokyo.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)
Pl. V & X Maitreya. Wood painted in color.
Height: 93 cm.; width: 59 cm.
Horyu-ji Temple. Nara.
Explanation by Kisaku Tanaka.
It is taken for granted that the identification of the exact nature of the Buddhistic statues before the Fujiwara period is extremely difficult. The same is true of the present statue although it has been called the Maitreya and the present exponent will follow the traditional classification regarding the divine nature of this religious statue at present.
This Maitreya is made of a single block of keyaki-wood. This time-honored statue shows only traces of the original color on the right knee of the crossed legs and the halo which also should have been beautifully adorned in color is missing as well as the lotus petals arranged in six rows. The original position of the lotus petals is indicated by the remaining holes found just beneath the seat of the deity and into which the petals fitted and were held in place. Furthermore, the repair of later periods is observed in several places.
In spite of these facts the naive expression of the deity, which the artist particularly emphasized, is most successfully achieved. In this naive and dreamy expression as well as in the realistic treatment of the body we see the characteristics of the Konin period. Although the present statue is somewhat unnoticed due to its unobtrusive beauty the present interpreter, especially inview of the technical dexterity of the sculptor, desires to introduce this statue as one of the excellent works of the old times.
Of the date of the present Maitreya statue. although the writer evades giving a definite conclusion, it may be assumed to be later than the Konin period because it has a more finely finished surface than those generally known as belonging to the Konin period. But, on the other hand, the statue reveals the elements which are common to statues of the Konin period. It cannot be denied, therefore, that the statue was made in the style of the Konin period.
Pl. VI (i) Viewing of Maple-Leaves, by the same artist.
Color on silk. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 133.2 cm.; width: 41.9 cm.
Collection of Mr. Tai Kizu, Aichi.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)
(ii) Landscape, by the same artist.
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 129.7 cm.; width: 492 cm.
Collection of Mr. Kenkichi Yamashita, Tokyo.
(See the article by Teizo Saganuma)
Pl. VII (i) Fisherman and Child, by the same artist.
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 108.5 cm.; width: 29.1 cm.,
Collection of Mr. Jukichi Hoshida, Aichi.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)
(ii) Forbearance of Ham Hsin, by the same artist.
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 130 cm.; width: 60.1 cm.
Collection of Mr. Seki Ogisu, Aichi.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)
Pl. VIII Flower and Bird, by the same artist.
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)
Pl. IX Collection of Seals used by the same artist.
(See the article by Teizo Suganuma)