BackNo.84
DECEMBER 1938
This summary is compiled by Mr. TAKASHI KATSUKI.
HARUNOBU AND HIS PAINTINGS
BY PROF. SHIZUYA FUJIKAKE
Studies of Harunobu Suzuki (1724-1770?) as an artist of wood-cut print have been attempted by many people and the characteristic features of his art are well known. No example of his painting, however, has ever been known and the existence of his painting has long been disputed.
But last year two of his works (Pls. IV, V, VII & VIII) were actually discovered by Prof. S. Fujikake and there is no doubt about their authenticity. As may be seen in the reproductions one (Pls. V & VII) shows a belle looking at a clock over her shoulders, holding an ornamental hair-pin in her right hand. The other (Pls. IV & VIII) shows a damsel reading a letter in the light of the lantern.
Apparently, these two were so painted as to correspond in subject to each other on two paper fans and were formerly used as such. The former represents daytime in spring which is suggested by the design of the dress which is a combination of weeping willow and water, while the latter is a representation of an autumn evening indicated by the pattern of chrysanthemums on the dress and by a lantern.
The technique employed is meticulous and the coloring is high in the use of gold and silver particularly for the design of the dress. Comparing the treatment of design with that of the figure as a whole the arrangement of color of the latter is similar. In this contrast the characteristics of Harunobu as an artist of wood-cut print are, clearly shown.
In Other words, he used a realistic and minute technique with the effect of color print, the former of which it is impossible to expect in the wood-cut print. The present works, therefore, are realistic in atmosphere comparing these with his prints which are famous especially for the romantic quality. In these features we feel a particular interest in pictures which were actually painted by the artist himself and there is also revealed his ability as a painter.
The date of these pieces is presumably set around the fourth or fifth year of Meiwa (1767-1768), in which case they were those produced in the very last days of the artist's life, according to the present writer. In reference to the date of the present works two color prints by Harunobu which are in the collection of Baron Mitsui are also introduced here. One is a Travesty on Han-Shan (Kanzan) and Shih-te (Jittoku) which was apparently done during the Meiwa Era, speaking from the style, and which is analogous to that of the present two paintings. Moreover, the botanical motive of the dress of a woman in the picture resembles very closely that of the emale figure of Pls. V & VII. The other is a series of twelve months and one of them bears the date of the seventh year of Meiwa (1770) which corresponds to the year that the artist passed away. In point of style the present two paintings seem to have been executed a little previous to the latter.
Harunobu was popular as an artist of the wood-cut print after the beginning of the Meiwa Era and this fact leads us to imagine that he would have painted when his art in color print was fully developed.
THE MORYO-GA STYLE OF ZEN PAINTING (PART I)
BY SHUJIRO SHIMADA
A paragraph relating that the painting by a certain artist went under the name of Moryo-Ga is seen in the literary works by a famous priest Ching-sou Chu-chien (Pen-chien) (1164-1246) of South Sung China. The word moryo is originally descrihed as an ohxeure and mysterious existence in nature and the term has become later applied generally to the ambiguous state of things. According to the priest Ching-sou, therefore, the paintings called the Moryo-Ga were painted quite vaguely in ink.
Although the name of the Moryo-Ga is strange to our ears a group of examples painted very faintly in ink remain among Zen paintings of the Sung and Yuan China, which are presumed to be similar to those so named by Ching-sou. Accordingly, the name, Moryo-Ga, reminds us of such paintings as these. With the same understanding the present writer, herewith, first considers the artist and his works called the Moryo-Ga and next, the relations between this artist and his works and the group of paintings and their painters.
The nickname given to the certain artist previously mentioned by Ching-sou is Lao-jung which appears in other documents less infrequently although he was correctly known as Chih-june. He was called Lao-niu Chih-junw as well because he was renowned for his paintings of cows.
To learn about Chih-jung himself and his work the literary information handed down to us by Ching-sou is, of course, of great importance, but there also remains a detailed record concerning Chih-jung by a famous literatus Lao Yao (1137-1213), contemporary of Ching-sou. Moreover, in the poetical works of Ching-Sou and of Lao Yao as well as in the literary works by other Zen priests of South Sung are found various references to Chih-jung. The following is the outline of the life of Chih-jung as depicted by the present writer in reference to these old records.
Chih-jung was born in the fourth year of Cheng-ho (1114) in Pien-ching, capital of North Sung, and Hsing Teng was a secular name. Succeeding to the family protession he later became an official physician. He was most successful as a court physician of South Sung in Lin-an around the Shao-hsing Era. After fifty, however, he became a Buddhist priest abandoning all worldly relationships including his wife and children and lived in Liang-yin-ssu, after moving in Hsueh-tou-shan through Ching-shan and Lu-shan. Having been fascinated by the beauty of nature he lived in Hsueh-tou-shan where he loved the surroundings and enjoyed himself painting at leisure, until he died there in May of the fourth year of Shao-hsi (1193) at the age of eighty.
Tsu-an Chih-chien who was later installed as a head-priest of Hsueh-tou-shan was the best of Chih-jung's ecclesiastical friends. Chih-jung probably became acquainted with Lao Yao through Tsu-an because the last mentioned two were intimatte friends. Chih-jung, on the other hand, after visiting Hsueh-tou-shan in the Ch'un-hsi Era, stayed in the vicinity a good many years which fact causes us to imagine that Ching-Sou Would have come to know Chih-jung. In view of Chih-jung's friendship as well as his career he is thought not to have simply been an ordinary artist-priest. He must have been a priest of virtue and his art must be appreciated as highly as that of distinguished priests.
These points are of primary importance in considering the style of his painting and are also emphasized by those who speak of the personality and the art of Chih-jung. His painting, therefore, must have heen distinguished from that of others by the freedom in style which was characterized by the extremely light chiaroscuro in ink, according to Ching-sou. On the other hand, Chih-jung is said to have been extremely economical in the use of ink and he employed only a few-brushstrokes in painting the various kinds of objects although his pictures acquired a profound lyrical atmosphere, says Lao Yao. Thus, he worked in the cursive style but his works were by no means sketchy, which fact is attested to by his abandoning portrait painting after he became old when it was difficult for him to draw the upper eyelids into which he had thrown his soul. The subject-matter chosen was rather extensive as may be related later. Both the extreme economy of brushstrokes and the use of ink, and the affluent lyrical quality which is unusual are all characteristic features of his art. In this way the depth of personality of the artist and the spirit of the Zen faith must have been well represented.
Chih-jung did paintings of figure, landscape and miscellaneous things but he was especially known for his pictures of cows. The cow was taken as the subject-matter in the early days in the Orient. Chih-jung followed the old tradition but his interpretation of the cow in art was peculiarly his own in which we cannot fail to recognize the relationship between the subject and the Zen faith. This is the reason that his cow paintings were much esteemed by the Zen priests of later days. The relation of his art to the Zen faith was strengthened by many of his paintings which respresent the founders of the same sect and by his pictures of monkeys.
SCROLL PAINTING: THE KOBO DAISHI EDEN OF TOJI
BY JIRO UMEZU
In the Bijutsu Kenkyu, Nos. LXXVIII & LXXXIII, the present writer disclosed his study of some important examples of the Kobo Daishi Eden scroll (the Illustrated Biography of Priest Kobo Daishi) and in the present paper the Toji scroll, another well-known specimen of the kind, is to be published.
The Toji scroll, now owned by Toji (Kyoogokokuji) temple in Kyoto, is a complete set consisting of twelve scrolls. As for the producion of the illustrated biography of priest Kobo Daishi as such Toji is said to have had an old record relating that several calligraphers and artists were engaged in the creation of the scrolls around the Oan (136S-1374) and Koryaku (1379-1380) Eras.
To prove this fact the present author refers herewith to the. old copy of a certain Kobo Daishi Eden scroll. The copy now owned by Daigoji templle, consists of three volumes in book form and is provided only with the text which bears a postscript. The postscript reads; this is a copy of the text of a Kobo Daishi Eden scroll which was originally executed in Toji not much before the fourth year of Eiwa (1378).
According to the postscript, the Toji scroll consisting of twelve volumes was compiled with the selections from the various Kobo Daishi Eden scrolls produced previous to the Toji scroll as well as some additions. This is true of the present Toji scroll as may be explained later.
Next, a question arises as to whether or not the present scroll was produced around the Eiwa Era (1375-1378) and is the original but these points will not be discussed here because the main interest of the present writer is focussed on the problems of compilation of the Toji scroll and its genealogical relations to other Kobo Daishi Eden scrolls.
Thus, the major point of the present paper lies in the comparative studies of the contents of the Toji scroll which was compiled, as was mentioned before, at the end of the Kamakura Period and three different soroils dealing with the life of Kobo Daishi as well. The three different scrolls, however, are known to have been made before the Eiwa Era (1375-]378), according to the careful studies by the present author which were formerly disclosed in our journals. The three different scrolls are as follows.
Koya Daishi Gyojo Zue in six volumes, closely related to the Jizoin scroll.
Koso Daishi Himitsu Engi in ten volumes, closely related to the Anrakuju-in scroll.
Koya Daishi Gyojo Zue in ten volumes dated the first year of Genno (1319), closely related to the Shinno-in scroll and others.
The conclusion reached by the present writer is that the texts of the three scrolls as well as those of other scrolls of the kind which have no illustrations were apparently retired to by the Toji scroll. In other words, the Toji scroll is a collective work composed of selections of those previously produced.
The same is also true of the illustrations of the Toji scroll. The making of scrolls on as large a scale as this was not only quite unusual at the time but also no example of the Kobo Daishi scroll was ever produced in the same attitude subsequent to that period. That many calligraphers and painters were engaged for years in the creation of this monumental work is thought to be true. With these features the Toji scroll distinguishes itself from other examples of the kind.
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES
Pl. I (Color) Two Men under a Tree.
Color on paper. Framed.
Height: 149.1 cm.; width: 56.6 cm.
The Yamamaka Co., Kyoto.
The present picture is said to have been found in the ground in the town of San-pao-p'o-ch'eng, Turfan, Sinkiang, China. This example resembles one among those discovered and brought back by the Otani expedition. Particularly noticeable is the paper used for the lining of the present picture, which seems to be an old census register of that district, dated the K'ai-yuan and Hsien-t'ien Eras, etc. The lining Should have been added sometime after the production of the picture and is considered an important clue from which the date of the production may be surmised.
The composition of the picture is similar to that of a famous screen "Torige-tachi-onna" of the Shosoin and the present work is thought to have originally been also mounted as a screen. Although the pigment used is coarse and the technique employed is simple the freedom in drawing gives us a fresh impression. This is a apparently an esteemed example of T'ang painting.
Pl. II Mahavairocana.
Color on silk. Mounted as Kakemono.
Height: 92.5 cm.; width: 565 cm.
Collection of Baron Okura, Tokyo.
The present Buddhistic figure which may also be called the Ichiji-kinrin is a meticulous work, executed in the Kamakura Period. Fortunately, the state of preservation is excellent. The figure is painted in white and, the apparel is also done in the same way but the latter is highly adorned with minute designs in silver.
Furthermore, the beauty of the lofty figure is enhanced by the addition of the personal religious ornaments which are painted in five different colors. This painting showing perfect harmony as a whole is characterized by the intellectual inclination which is not found in the preceding Fujiwara Period.
Pl. III Kobo Daishi Gyojo Emaki. A section of second volume.
Color on paper. Scroll.
Width: 36.4 cm.; length: 1901.2 cm.
Kyoogokokuji, Kyoto.
(see the article by Jiro Umezu)
Pls. IV & VIII A Beauty, by Harunobu (Japanese, 1724-1770).
Color on paper fan.
Width: 13.7 cm.
Outer semi-circumference: 43 cm.
Inner semi-circumference: 17 cm.
Collection of Baron Mitsui, Tokyo.
(see the article by Prof. S. Fujikake)
Pls. V & VII A Beauty, by Harunobu (Japanese, 1724-1770).
Color on paper fan.
Width: 13.8 cm.
Outer semi-circumference: 39.5 cm.
Inner semi-circumference: 16 cm.
Collection of Baron Mitsui, Tokyo.
(See the article by Prof. S. Fujikake)
Pls. VI & X One of Four Lokapalas.
Wood painted in color.
Height: 16.4 cm.
Collection of Mrs. Sen Shimomura, Kanagawa.
Although both the arms are lost and the base signifying rocks remains only in part the present statue is clearly one of the Four Lokapalas. Roughly speaking, the statue is carved of a single block of wood and in its corpulent figure we feel a formidable strength. Under these circumstances this statue is obviously made in the style of Konin sculpture. However, as the inside is hollowed a little and the tenon is applied to the shoulders it differs from the genuine type made of a single block of wood as represented by Konin sculpture. Moreover, a tranquil atmosphere is felt in the general expression of the statue. Judging from these points the date of production is thought to be the beginning of the Fujiwara Period.
On the statue there still remain the touches of colors which were originally painted on the statue. This is a prized sculpture in the collection of the late Kanzan Shimomura, a well-known artist of modern times in Japan.
Pl. XI Kobo Daishi Gyojo Emaki. A section of twelfth volume.
Width: 36.4 cm.; length: 2596.9 cm.
Kyoogokokuji, Kyoto.
(See the article by Jiro Umezu)