BackNo.82
OCTOBER 1938
This summary is compiled by Mr. TAKASHI KATSUKI.
NEWLY DISCOVERED FRAGMENT OF THE YAMAI ZOSHI
BY PROF. YUKIO YASHIRO
The Yamai Zoshi scroll or the Scroll of Diseases which is owned by Mr. Morihiko Sekido is well known as a masterpiece among scroll paintings produced in Japan and a few fragments which were originally parts of the same scroll are known to exist in other collections. Now a new fragment was discovered by the present writer recently, which he publishes together with a special study of the subject. The newly-discovered piece consists of a section of text with an illustration (Pl. I). In it is depicted a wealthy wom.an who is a money lender in Kyoto and who became so fat because of her extravagant living that she can hardly walk; two maids are helping her to walk on the street; two men are gazing at her in amazement and near by is a woman who is nursing her baby.
The fluent brush-strokes, light coloring and the clever and witty way of composing the picture are identical with those of Mr. Sekido's scroll. The same is true of the quality and size of paper on which the picture is drawn and also the handwriting of the text. As compared with other scenes of the same scroll this fragment stands out by its subtle atmosphere of refinement and good humored satire, which is a treatment well suited to the subject.
Except for a slight reference in the Koko Gafu there is known no document in which the present fragment is mentioned and even among the remaining various copies of the Yamai Zoshi the present fragment finds no corresponding part.
On this occasion the writer calls our attention to an interesting and hitherto-unknown copy of a Yamai Zoshi which is in the collection of Dr. Fujikawa. This copy consists of three sections of text and corresponding illustrations each with an old and decrepit man as the subject. This copy provides us with a very suggestive material with which to solve the most involved question as to what was the original state of the various scrolls of Diseases produced in the late Fujiwara or early Kamakura Periods.
The artist of the Yamai Zoshi is generally believed to be Mitsunaga, and the date of the newly-discovered fragment may be set around the end of the Fujiwara Period or the beginning of the ensuing Kamakura, according to the present writer. Mitsunaga is thought to have lived during that time and, furthermore, the technique shown in the Yamai Zoshi is, to a certain degree, but not definitely, in common with that of the Nenchu Gyoji scrolls by the same artist of which only facsimiles remain today and of the Ban Dainagon scrolls ascribed also to him.
In the light of our present knowledge of Japanese art-history no further conclusion as to the author; of the Yamai zoshi is possible.
ON THE RECORD OF TRAVELS OF TESSAI TOMIOKA
BY TARO ODAKAKE
It will be needless to say how eminent a personage Tessai Tomioka (1873-1919) was, as an artist and a scholar in the Meiji era. As a traveler, on the other hand, he visited almost all parts of the country by means of which travels we can imagine his artistic as well as his life experiences were enriched. He left abundant records and sketches which were done on each trip. To classify them in order is important in any study on the life of Tessai and is, furthermore, a fundamental step to be taken toward the compilation of the chronological table of his life and work.
Unforthmately, the records of travels before the Meiji Restoration when Tessai was a little over thirty seem to have been lost including that of his journey to Nagasaki which was one of his most extensive travels and which is generally believed to have been carried out in the sixth year of Ansei (1859) is not found. The records after the Restoration, however, are now preserved in the Tomioka family through which we can imagine the travels attempted by him in his early days.
In the present paper the records of about twenty travels are introduced being arranged in chronological order and each one is accompanied by the comments on the contents. They include those beginning with a trip to Kyushu in the fifth year of Meiji (1872) when Tessai was thirty-six and ending with that to the Inland Sea in the thirtyseventh year of Meiji (1904) at the age of sixty-eight.
Some of them consist of detailed itineraries, experiences, information concerning his companions and other details and some are entirely made up of sketches made on the trips with some notes. These records tell us not only of himself and of the styles of his painting at various times but also of the circle of his acquaintances.
The Record of Tessai Tomioka's Travels which is reprinted in the present number of the Bijutsu Kenkyu from the autographic manuscripts represents two travels: one to Kanto, Ou and Hokkaido districts between the end of June and the beginning of October of the seventh year of Meiji (1874) at the age of thirty-eight and the other to Mt. Yoshino for cherry-viewing in the eighth year of Meiji (1875) when he was thirty-nine. The former is the most detailed record of his travrel and the latter draws our attention to the sketches and to his friendly relations.
RECORD OF TESSAI TOMIOKA'S TRAVELS. REPRINTED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS.
Comments by Taro Odakane.
(See On the Record of Travels of Tessai Tomioka)
STUDY OF THE FIFTEEN MYSTERIES OF ST. MARY PAINTED IN JAPAN (PART II)
BY TEI NISHIMURA
Judging from the composition of the two remaining examples of the Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary treasured by the Imperial University of Kyoto and by Mr. Tojiro Azuma, respectively, which the present writer discussed in the preceding number of the Bijutsu Kenkyu they are believed to have been executed after the imported religious pictures printed by means of copperplate.
These copperplates may be exemplified by the Portrait of St. Anthony preserved by the Uraguchi Catholic Church (cut on p. 16) and by the illustrated apostolic creed (cut on p. 24, ibid., No. 81) owned by Mr. Senkichiro Katsumata. The latter in particular comes quite close, with reference to the composition, to the Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary, which is traditionally said to have been brought back to Japan by Hasekura Tsunenaga from Europe, who visited there in behalf of a Catholic mission in the eighteenth year of Keicho (1613) to the sixth year of Genna (1620).
Under these circumstances, the paintings of the Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary seem to have been made, chiefly based on the imported prints, under the direction of the Catholic priests stationed in Japan. The date of production of the paintings is generally thought to be the Keicho era (1596-1614) but, speaking from the technical point of view, it may be safely set in the second half of the same era, according to the present exponent.
Both St. Loyola and St. Xavier in the Fiteen Mysteries of St. Mary owned by Mr. Azuma. unlike the one belonging to the Imperial University of Kyoto, bear a nimbus as if they were painted in commemoration of their promotion to the rank of evangelist. As a matter of fact, St. Loyola was made evangelist in the twelfth year of Tensho (1584) and St. Xavier in the fourteenth year of Keicho (1609) and the commemoration in honor of their promotion to evangelisthoed was enthusiastically observed in Nagasaki in the sixteenth year of Keicho (1611).
Both paintings of the Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary owned by the Imperial University of Kyoto and Mr. Azuma, respectively, must have been done by the same artist who also executed the Portrait of St. Xavier (cut on p. 23, ibid., No. 81), formerly in the collection of Mr. Azuma, and the Portrait of a Mtrtyr (St. Catherine?) (cut on p. 18), now owned by Mr. Azuma. Of the last mentioned two the former bears the signature of the artist which reads Gyohu Kanjin. This signature is considered his brush name but his real name and his life still remain unknown.
Lastly, the present writer desires to introduce the Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary owned by the Uragami Catholic Church (Pl. No. VI), which was handed down for generations in a Catholic family in the same district. Apparently this was also produced in Japan but its composition is quite different from that of the two other examples bearing similarities to each other. The Fifteen Mysteries are so arranged as to be seen from right to left in three rows beginning from the bottom to the top under which there appear three saints, that is, Francis, Anthony and John, each in a medallion. Technically, the Present work is also distinguished from the other two by the simplicity and naivety, which lend lite to the picture.
It is interesting to find a sarcophagus in the picture which is similar, in style, to the Christian grave stones in the Nagasaki region of the Keicho era. Furthermore, the fact that there are painted St. Francis and others instead of St. Loyola and St. Xavier suggests to us that this unusual painting must have been made by the Franciscan groups although the Nagasaki region was in the diocese of the Jesuit Society of Japan. The existence of the Franciscan faith is also surmised from other sources but the importance of the present ecclesiastical painting is not reduced a bit.
Finally, the writer studies the Christianity of the later periods particularly after waves of persecution ensuing from a severe anti-Christian policy launched by the government. Despite this ill-treatment of the Catholics the roots of their faith kept growing and small plaques inscribed with religious words which could be easily concealed (cut on p. 25) took the place of the paintings of the Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary in their religious life.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES
Pls. I (Color) & II Yamai Zoshi.
Color on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 25.4 cm; width: 452 cm.
Anonymous Collection.
(See the article by Prof. Yukio Yashiro)
Pl. III Avalokitesvara.
Ink on paper. Mounted as kakemono.
Height: 105.4 cm; width: 44.4 cm.
Collection of Mr. Masaya Okazaki, Tokyo.
Selected from the religious paintings in ink of the mid-Ashikaga, the present work is admired as a masterpiece particularly in point of the employment of facile brush strokes and the realistic representation of the subject in an atmosphere of traquility.
The artist of this picture, judging from the stylistic features, especially the facile representation which is distinctive, is the so-called Gakuo, if not one who apparently belonged to the same school. Although the life of Gakuo is not ascertained as yet he is presumed to have been active in the Eisho era (1504-1520) as a follower of Shubun.
Pls. IV & VII Flocks of Crows, by Toeki (Japanese, 1590-1634)
Ink on paper. Mounted as a pair of six-fold screens.
Height: 110 cm.; width: 49.7 cm., each panel.
Konchiin, Myoshinji, Kyoto.
On the twelve panels of the present pair of screens are painted crows in divers ways. The crow as a subject matter seems to have been favored by the Unkoku school, in particular, and here also the ingenious treatment of the same subject is shown.
Toeki is the second son of Togan who is said to be the founder of the Unkoku school, and succeeded his father in the first year of Genna (1615); he died in the first year of Shoho (1644). His family successively served Mori, the war lord of Suo province, as the official painters. The present state of distribution of their works, however, suggests to us that they must have been active in Kyoto district for a certain period at least and the present examples may have also been produced at the time.
PI. V Female Figure.
Plaster.
Height: 22 cm.
Collection of Kozo Moriya, Kyoto.
Pl. VIII Lohan.
Plaster.
Height: 21 cm.
The Imperial School of Art, Tokyo.
Both are said to have originally belonged to the group of plaster figures placed around the four sides on the bottom inside the five storied pagoda of Horyuji. These well-known figures were built in the fifth year of Wado (712). The subjects are principally from the life of Sakya--the Nirvana, the mass for holy relics and others. Among remaining figures those which were repaired in the course of time are not few.
Examinations of the present two figures reveal that they are made in the same way as other original pieces and the style is also quite similar. Judging from these facts these two must have become separated from the groups in the Horyuji. What group the present Female Figure originauy belonged to is difficult to say but the weeping Lohan must have been in the Nirvana group.
Both are characterized by the affluent atmosphere of Nara sculpture and by the charming realism which is to be seen particularly in plaster work. Unfortunately, the Female Figure is slightly damaged but that fact only enables us to study the technical process used in the molding of the figure. This figure was once introduced in the Bijutsu Kenkyu, No. 72, in an X-ray photograph.
Pl. VI Fifteen Mysteries of St. Mary.
Color on paper. Framed.
Height: 64.5 cm; width: 56.7 cm.
The Uraguchi Catholic Church, Nagasaki.
(See the article by Tei Nishimura)