BackNo.77
MAY 1938
This summary is compiled by Mr. TAKASHI KATSUKI.
STUDIES ON THE THIRTY-SIX POETICAL GENIUSES FORMERLY OWNED BY MARQUIS SATAKE
BY MISS YOSHI SHIRAHATA
The principal points of discussion in the present paper include the stylistic origin of scroll paintings of this kind, the motive for the creation of the present scrolls, and the artist Nobuzane. To introduce them briefly the so-called Thirty-six Poetical Geniuses and their representative poems were first selected by a poet of fame, Fujiwara Kinto (d. 1041), from the Manyoshu and the Kokinshu, both old anthologies. This Collection of Poems by the Thirty-Six Poetical Geniuses became quite popular later among literati until eventually they took on pictorial form as seen in Plate IX which latter is a portrait of poetess Lady Ise accompanied with a brief biography and poems of the same poetess. This is the oldest extant example of the so-called Portraits of Poetical Geniuses in Japanese painting. The present piece was part of a pair of scrolls which were formerly owned by Marquis Satake but which have since been split up and mounted as kakemono; these are now dispersed among different collections in the present form.
The origin of the picture of poetical geniuses of this kind may be set around the mid-Fujiwara Period according to an old document. In it is an account of a card party which was held in the palace of Princess Seishi in the fifth year of Eisho (1050) with the implication that the well-known poets and poetesses were to be portrayed on the same occasion for the first time although up till that time only their poems had been depicted. These poets and poetesses were not the same as those who were chosen by Kinto but they may be considered, the heralds of the so-called Portraits of Poetical Geniuses.
This novel idea was received with keen interest and towards the end of the Fujiwara Period the improvised simple drawing of the portraits of the famous poets and poetesses by the poets of the day was popular. In the ensuing Kamakura Period as seen in the illustrations (Pls. I, II, III & IX) they came to be portrayed in color by the professional painters.
Eighteen poets were originally painted on each of the pair of scrolls formerly owned by Marquis Satake and this arrangement seems to havre been based on that of Kakujo who had previously selected thirty-six poets in two divisions at the end of the Fujiwara Period. The present scrolls, therefore, were originally painted with each of the thirty-six poetical geniuses accompanied by one poem and they were, on the whole, so planned as to be used in a contest. The picture and calligraphy of the present scrolls are traditionally ascribed to Fujiwara Nobuzane and Gokyogoku Yoshitsune (1169-1206) respectively, but the attribution, particularly in regard to Nobuzane, is questioned although the scrolls are generally believed to have been produced around the middle of the Kamakura Period when Nobuzane was active. In a certain old document, Meigetsu-ki, it is said that Nobuzane had once painted the portraits of the thirty-six poetical geniuses but this statement seems to have no relation to the present works.
The present scrolls were treasured in Kamo Shrine in Kyoto before they went into Marquis Satake's collection. In the Shinto faith the thirty-one word poem has closely been associated with God who was thought to be appeased by means of poetical works. The present scrolls were dedicated to Kamo Shrine for the same purpese. The figures, poems and brief biographies are either painted in color or written with the utmost care on the scrolls.
JOSETSU--Corpus of Eastern Arts, Series III --
BY HAJIME WATANABE
Josetsu is one of the few artists who occupy an important position in Japanese art history but whose lives are virtually unknown. He was a precursor of monochrome painting in the Ashikaga Period and his gifted ability as an artist is seen in his few extant works. In an old document Gaun-nikken-roku is found an article regarding Josetsu in connection with the building of the monument of Muso Kokushi, which is thought to have been projected between the twenty-first and fifth year of Oei (1414-1418). Beside this the notes written on the pictures (Pls. IV & X) are the only sources from which the life of Josetsu may be conjectured.
According to one of the eulogies found on the Catfish Caught with a Gourd (Pl. IV) the latter was painted at the command of an Ashikaga Shogun on a screen. Of the more than thirty priests who wrote the eulogistic notes on the present painting half are known to have died during the Oei era. Accordingly, the date of the execution of the present work by Josetsu should be set around the middle of the Oei (ca. 1410). The importance of the present work also lies in the fact that it is the oldest example of remaining screen paintings in ink.
The Sakya, Confucious and Lao-tsze (Pls. V & X, i), however, has become famous comparatively recently and a eulogy written on the same painting tells us that the name Josetsu was given by a prelate Zekkai Chushin Who died in the twelfth year of Oei (1405). This eulogy which is not dated and of which the writer's name is an unfamiliar one must have been inscribed after 1410 because the same prelate is mentioned by his posthumous name Butchi-kosho-kokushi which was accorded to him after 1410. The other eulogy is dated the second year of Meio (1493).
The Wang I-chin Inscribing on a Fan (Pls. VI & X, ii) was exhibited at the Municipal Museum of Osaka in 1937 for the first time. The present fan-shaped painting which also bears a poem written on the left side is mounted as a kakemono and a long eulogy written on the space right above the picture is dated 1430 introducing the artist of the picture as Josetsu.
All those mentioned above are the only remaining sources known to date concerning the life and art of Josetsu. Thus, records on the life of Josetsu are more frequently found in the eulogistic notes on his paintings than in the old documents. This case which is exemplified by the Catfish Caught with a Gourd, however, is rarely found among those produced in the early Ashikaga Period.
The following is an explanation of these works from the artistic view point, the first being the Catfish Caught with a Gourd. This painting to all appearances was done in the Zen Buddhist faith although the point of whether the subject was chosen by the artist himself or suggested by the Shogun or taken from a continent l example is an open question. But the loftiness which permeates the picture enhances the beauty of this unique piece of monochrome painting. It is, however, singular that it has no relationship to other works supposed to have been painted by the same artist. It may be due to the fact that the development of monochrome painting was still in its infancy and the artist had not advanced far enough to establish his own style at that time.
Apropos of the authenticity of the autographic poems written on the Sakya, Confucius and Lao-tsze there is no questuion but the eulogies and picture are drawn on a different kind of paper which may be discernible in Plate X. Of this point there are two different theories, one denying the latter is based on the difficulties of finding any similarity in techinique employed between the present work and the Catfish Caught with a Gourd. The other, on the other hand, admits the differences in techinique because it was done after the Chinese model. Which theory is more likely to be true, however, is difficult at present to say, according to the writer.
Wang I-chin Inecribing on a Fan also seems to have been painted after the continental original. The artist is described as Josetsu in the eulogistic note accompanying the painting but the present writer desires to leave the point of the originality of this work by Josetsu for further study in the future.
BUNSEl--Corpus of Eastern Arts, Series IV--
BY HAJIME WATANABE
The paintings bearing the seal Bunsei were considered to have been painted by Josetsu. The earliest document ln which the seal Bunsei was introduced is probably the Honcho Gain (catalogue of seals used by Japanese artists) compihed by Kano Eino (d. 1700) and the seal is reproduced under the item for Josetsu. Although this erroneous belief has long been believed eventually it came to be questioned by the authors of the Koga Biko and others.
One of the most important works ascribed to Josetsu is the Portrait of Priest Yuima (Pl. XI) which bears the seal of Bunsei and was executed around forty years after Josetsu was active as an artist, judging from the date accompanying the autographic note written by Priest Sonko (d. 1467) on the upper part of the same picture. Accordingly, the artist of the picture cannot be Josetsu.
In 1921 two portrait paintings (Pls. VIII & XII with the seal of Bunsei were discovered by Prof. R. Fukui of Tohoku Imperial University in the collection of Daitokuji temple in Kyoto. A year later in 1922 a landscape painting (Pl. VII) bearing the same kind of seal, which is in the possession of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was also brought to light by Prof. Fukui. Of these last mentioned works the Portrait of Priest Yogi (Pl. XII) is quite likely to have been painted after a Chinese model. They are similar in technique and in point of the time of execution they seem closely related.
On these grounds Prof. Fukui arrives at the conclusion that Bunsei must be the artist of these works and a different person from Josetsu. The present writer agrees with Prof. Fukui's opinion if there is no positive reason for recognizing these seals of Bunsei as a kind of connoiseur's seal instead. It can, however, scarcely be said that the artist's talent is equally well represented in each of them. For example: the Portrait of Priest Yoso (Pl. VIII) which was painted from life is inferior to the Portrait of Priest Yuima (Pl. XI) which was done after the Chinese original. This is partly due to the fact that the development of monochrome painting at the time had not yet reached its zenith.
Both the Portrait of Priest Yoso and Portrait of Priest Yogi bear a poetical note written by Priest Yoso who was the priest of Daitokuji and the Landscape (Pl. VII) now owned by the Boston Museum originally belonged to the same temple. The Three Sages in the Mountain (Pl. XIII) is another example by Bunsei, and the seal found on the picture seems to be identical with those appearing on his works previously introduced. Although this picture is not, technically speaking, similar to the others it is important material in research on Bunsei as no documentary evidence to prove the existence of Bunsei has been discovered to date.
Among those attributed to Bunsei the landscape paintings in Korean style are not few. This fact indicates that artistic relations between the two countries must have existed at this time although the point of whether Bunsei was Korean or not and many other details concerning his life and work are open to question.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES
Pls. I (Color) & V Portrait of Lady Ise, Poetess.
Color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 36.7 cm.; width: 91.2 cm.
Collection of Mr. Yasuzaemon Matsunaga, Tokyo.
(see the article by Miss Yoshi Shirahata)
Pl. II Portrait of Yakamochi, Poet.
Color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 36.7 cm.; width: 57.1 cm.
Collection of Mr. Kenzo Iwahara, Tokyo.
(See the article by Miss Yoshi Shirahata)
Pl. III Landscape of Sumiyoshi.
Color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 36 cm.; width: 96.9 cm.
Collection of Mr. Yasuzaemon Matsunaga, Tokyo.
(see the article by Miss Yoshi Shirahata)
Pl. IV Catfish Caught with a Gourd, by Josetsu (Japanese, the early fifteenth century).
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 111.6 cm.; width: 77.2 cm.
Taizoin, Myoshinji, Kyoto.
(See the article by Hajime Watanahe)
Pls. V & X (i) Sakya, Confucius and Lao-tsze.
Ink on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 98.5 cm.; width: 21.8 cm.
Ryosokuin, Kenninji, Kyoto.
(See the article by Hajime Watanabe)
Pls. VI & X (ii) Wang I-chin Inscribing on a Fan.
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 83.1 cm.; width: 32.6 cm.
Collection of Mr. Kozo Moriya, Kyoto.
(See the article by Hajime Watanahe)
Pl. VII Landscape, by Bunsei (Japanese, the middle of the fifteenth century).
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 73 cm.; width: 32.7 cm.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
(See the article by Hajime Watanabe)
Pl. VIII Portrait of Priest Yoso, by Bunsei.
Slight color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 117.5 cm.; width: 52 cm.
Daitokuji, Kyoto.
(See the article by Hajime Watanabe)
Pl. XI Portrait of Priest Yuima, by Bunsei.
Ink on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 92.7 cm.; width: 31.5 cm.
Collection of Mr. Tomitaro Hara, Kanagawa.
(See the article by Hajime Watanabe)
Pl. XII Portrait of Priest Yogi, by Bunsei.
Color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 116.6 cm.; width: 44.5 cm.
Daitokuji, Kyoto.
(See the article by Hajime Watanabe)
Pl. XIII Three Sages in the Mountain, by Bunsei.
Ink on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 57.1 cm.; width: 32 cm.
Collection of Mr. Risuke Saito, Tokyo.
(See the article by Hajime Watanabe)