Traditional Japanese Landscapes

Hanging scrolls depicting serene landscapes with elements of nature and human interaction, illustrating the harmony of art and environment in Japanese culture.

Hawks by a Stream right of a pair, mid 17th century, Soga Nichokuan, Japanese, active c. 1620 - 1660, 59 5/16 × 137 5/8 in. (150.65 × 349.57 cm) (image)63 × 145 × 5/8 in. (160.02 × 368.3 × 1.59 cm) (mount), Ink and color on paper, Japan, 17th century, Birds of prey became a favorite subject of members of Japans warrior class beginning in the 1400s and 1500s. When applied to large-scale paintings like folding screens, such images, which express notions such as military prowess, power, and valor, made for a particularly impressive backdrop for warriors receptions rooms. Soga Nichokuan, like his father, Soga Chokuan (Nichokuan literally means 'the second Chokuan'), specialized in images of birds, especially hawks and other birds of prey, whose textured feathers they described using a meticulous layering of various tones of ink wash. The hawks of Nichokuan and his father owe a great deal to older Chinese and Japanese paintings . But Nichokuan, particularly in late works like this one, pl

The Four Accomplishments, late 1500s-early 1600s. Attributed to Kano Shōei (Japanese, 1519-1592). One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and slight color on paper; image: 153 x 358.6 cm (60 1/4 x 141 3/16 in.); overall: 174 x 378.5 cm (68 1/2 x 149 in.); closed: 64.8 x 11 cm (25 1/2 x 4 5/16 in.).

Spring Arriving in the Han Palace 宮春曉圖 1712-1722 China. Yuan Jiang is most renowned for his meticulous ìruled-line paintingî (jiehua) of architectureóthe only pictorial style to utilize carpentry tools along with the flexible brush. A master of composition as well as draftsmanship, Yuan seamlessly constructed buildings within landscapes of imposing grandeur and unexpected drama. This aristocratic villa and its surrounding garden of large, diagonally swept trees and huge, eroded rocks lies beneath distant mountain ranges that emerge and recede above a thick mist. Within this animated and dreamlike setting, figures in the foreground library, on the veranda, and in the surrounding garden appear isolated in their own tranquility. Such strikingly panoramic but personally accessible images were typically commissioned by affluent individuals of late imperial China for display in the spacious reception halls of their private mansions.. Hanging scroll; ink and slight color on silk . Yuan Jiang

Winter Day, 1784. Maruyama Ōkyo (Japanese, 1733-1795). Six-panel folding screen, ink, gold, and silver on paper; image: 154 x 362 cm (60 5/8 x 142 1/2 in.). kyo painted these panoramas in the summer of 1784. Regarded as Kyoto's most important painting teacher and accomplished artist, he had studied Western painting techniques, "realistic" sketching from nature, and traditional Japanese style painting (yamato-e). The naturalistic quality of these scenes results from a blend of detailed observation of nature and a remote, even detached regard for man's place in the world.

Monk Mending Clothes in the Morning Sun (Chōyō Hotetsuzu), c. 1350. Japan, Nanbokuchō period (1336-92). Hanging scroll, ink on paper; image: 84.3 x 35.2 cm (33 3/16 x 13 7/8 in.); overall: 168.5 x 47.7 cm (66 5/16 x 18 3/4 in.); with knobs: 168.5 x 52 cm (66 5/16 x 20 1/2 in.).

Seasonal Landscapes: Autumn, mid- to late 1500s. Kano Hideyori (Japanese, active mid- to late 1500s). Hanging scroll, ink on paper; image: 165.7 x 59.7 cm (65 1/4 x 23 1/2 in.); mounted: 153.5 x 50.3 cm (60 7/16 x 19 13/16 in.); with knobs: 153.5 x 55.1 cm (60 7/16 x 21 11/16 in.).

Hawks by a Stream right of a pair, mid 17th century, Soga Nichokuan, Japanese, active c. 1620 - 1660, 59 5/16 × 137 5/8 in. (150.65 × 349.57 cm) (image)63 × 145 × 5/8 in. (160.02 × 368.3 × 1.59 cm) (mount), Ink and color on paper, Japan, 17th century, Birds of prey became a favorite subject of members of Japans warrior class beginning in the 1400s and 1500s. When applied to large-scale paintings like folding screens, such images, which express notions such as military prowess, power, and valor, made for a particularly impressive backdrop for warriors receptions rooms. Soga Nichokuan, like his father, Soga Chokuan (Nichokuan literally means 'the second Chokuan'), specialized in images of birds, especially hawks and other birds of prey, whose textured feathers they described using a meticulous layering of various tones of ink wash. The hawks of Nichokuan and his father owe a great deal to older Chinese and Japanese paintings . But Nichokuan, particularly in late works like this one, pl

Flight silver scinchers, c. 1600 - c. 1700 Six -part room screen, ink, color and gold on paper, with a representation of a flight of small egrets above water, reeds and rocks. A few with AK-MAK-170-A. Japan Painting: Gold (Metal). Painting: Ink. Painting: pigment. Painting: Paper. Mounting: Silk. Frame: Lacquer (coating) Six -part room screen, ink, color and gold on paper, with a representation of a flight of small egrets above water, reeds and rocks. A few with AK-MAK-170-A. Japan Painting: Gold (Metal). Painting: Ink. Painting: pigment. Painting: Paper. Mounting: Silk. Frame: Lacquer (coating)

Pine, Bamboo, Grape, and Squirrel Unidentified 18th-19th century Over the years, specialists have debated whether this ink painting was created by a Korean artist or by a Japanese artist influenced by continental examples of the theme of grape vines and squirrels. Regardless of its country of origin, the artist has created a delightful image of natural fecundity. The squirrel is eating a bunch of grapes held in place by its left paw Ink washes are used to model the squirrels head, body, and tail. Densely applied fine curving strokes and small dark dots had then been scattered across the squirrels body to suggest his dappled fur. Oddly, the squirrel seems to have two tails, one large and bushy, the other long and narrow.This work is also distinctive for featuring a pine tree and bamboo along with the grape vine. The pines bark is suggested by a dense array of compressed semicircles painted with a wet brush; its clusters of thin needles are delineated against areas of light ink wash. Gra

Turtle in a Lotus Pond, 1700s. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Hanging scroll; ink on paper; overall: 46.4 x 108.6 cm (18 1/4 x 42 3/4 in.); painting only: 20 x 30 cm (7 7/8 x 11 13/16 in.).

Central Asians Presenting Tribute Horses. Origin: China. Period: Ming or Qing dynasty. Ink, color, and gold on silk. Date: 17th century. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Lady Ise by the Riverbank late 18th century Nishikawa Sukenobu. Lady Ise by the Riverbank. Nishikawa Sukenobu (Japanese, 1671-1750). Japan. late 18th century. Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Paintings

Pillar Print 18th-19th century Unidentified artist. Pillar Print 54011

Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons late 17th century Kano Sanboku The right-hand screen features plum blossoms with other spring flowers growing nearby; farther to the left, the irises of summer are in bloom. Nightingales and cuckoos celebrate both seasons. The left-hand screen depicts autumn and winter, represented by hibiscus, snowy bamboo, a kingfisher, and pheasants. Each screen bears two seals of Kano Sanboku. Little is known about Sanboku except that he was a student of both Kano Sanraku (1559-1635) and Kano Sansetsu (1590-1651), the two great masters of the Kano schools Kyoto branch. His subdued depiction of the four seasons recalls the art of Sansetsu and is almost devoid of color, shunning the exuberance that appealed to the taste of warrior clients of the early Edo period.. Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons. Kano Sanboku (Japanese, active mid-17th-early 18th century). Japan. late 17th century. Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper. Edo perio

Japanese Drawing Japan early 19th century View more. Japanese Drawing. Japan. early 19th century. On paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Paintings

Scene from A Long Tale for an Autumn Night early 15th century Japan This painting comprises a long-missing fragment from the first scroll in a set of three illustrated narrative handscrolls entitled A Long Tale for an Autumn Night (Aki no yo no nagamonogatari), a tragic but sensitively narrated love story of a Buddhist monk who falls in love with a younger male acolyte-attendant (see 2002.459.1-3). It belongs to a genre of medieval didactic tales on homoerotic themes called chigo monogatari, or stories of acolytes.”This fragment represents the right half of a scene that depicts Monk Keikai preparing a letter to be delivered to the acolyte monk Umewaka, with whom he has become infatuated. Keikai had earlier befriended Umewaka’s trusted attendant Keiju and is relying on him deliver the missive he has composed. The left half of this scene together with its accompanying text, constitute the opening passage of the set’s first scroll (2002.459.1). The lefthand portion of the scene shows the

Woman and Child under a Cherry Tree late 18th-early 19th century Utagawa Toyohiro. Woman and Child under a Cherry Tree. Utagawa Toyohiro (Japanese, 1763-1828). Japan. late 18th-early 19th century. Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Edo period (1615-1868). Paintings

Birds in Snow, mid 19th century, Nakabayashi Chikutō, Japanese, 1776 - 1853, 51 9/16 × 16 1/2 in. (130.97 × 41.91 cm) (image)82 1/2 × 21 13/16 in. (209.55 × 55.4 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink on silk, Japan, 19th century

Liu Haichan, 1300s. China, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk; image: 105 x 38 cm (41 5/16 x 14 15/16 in.); overall: 182.8 x 59.1 cm (71 15/16 x 23 1/4 in.).

Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris 1825-90 Eugène Cicéri French. Design for a Stage Set at the Opéra, Paris 358686

Piece 18th-19th century Japan. Piece 66242

Landscape Fujimoto Tesseki (Japanese, 1817-1863). Landscape, 19th century. Hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper, 67 1/2 x 17 11/16in. (171.5 x 44.9cm). Asian Art 19th century

Wangchuan Villa 16th-17th century Unidentified artist The eighth-century poet and painter Wang Wei was so taken with the beauty of his country estate that he decided to celebrate it with a cycle of twenty poems extolling various sites on the property and a painted handscroll that depicted the grounds. The poems have been part of the core curriculum for students of Chinese literature for a millennium, and although the original painting was lost long ago, its composition has survived in the form of rubbings and painted copies. This example merges the naive architectural forms of the original composition with the elegant painterly sensibility of the sixteenth-century followers of Wen Zhengming (1470-1559).. Wangchuan Villa 51419

"Lingering Rain over Half the Village". Artist: Uragami Gyokudo (Japanese, 1745-1820). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 8 9/16 × 18 7/8 in. (21.7 × 48 cm)Overall with mounting: 41 3/4 × 23 1/2 in. (106 × 59.7 cm)Overall with knobs: 41 3/4 × 25 11/16 in. (106 × 65.2 cm). Date: ca. 1815-20.Although he was born into a family of relatively high-ranking warrior-retainers, from a young age, Uragami Gyokudo expressed more interest in literature, painting, and music. He finally resigned his position at forty-nine and traveled widely for the rest of his life. In this late work executed in short, meticulous strokes with a dry brush, Gyokudo paints a secluded mountain village--barely visible at far right--still enveloped in mist after the rain. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Birds and flowers. Date: 18th century. Origin: Japan. Period: Edo period. Color and ink on paper. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Quails and Sparrows in an Autumn Scene, 1347. Wang Yuan (Chinese, c. 1299-after 1366). Hanging scroll, ink on paper; painting: 114.3 x 56 cm (45 x 22 1/16 in.); overall with knobs: 267.5 x 85 cm (105 5/16 x 33 7/16 in.).

China, Mand met bloemen, print, prent, China (collectie), height 292 mm, width 364 mm, maker, verwerker, 1600 - 1699, paper, papier, colour woodcut, kleurhoutsnede

Page from Shi Zhu Zhai China Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong period (1736-95) View more. Page from Shi Zhu Zhai. China. Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong period (1736-95). Prints

Beauty on a Veranda in Snow ca. 1794-95 Sakai Hitsu This painting of a slender, pensive-looking courtesan standing on a veranda in a light snowfall is indicative of Hitsu’s early training in Ukiyo-e painting. The woman’s gesture, of raising the layered collars of her garb with concealed hands to veil the lower part of her face, appears in Ukiyo-e paintings as early as the late seventeenth century. Her hair, adorned with a comb and numerous pins, forms two winglike mounds that characterize the yoko-hygo hairstyle popular among high-ranking courtesans in the late Edo period. Hitsu’s beauty resembles courtesans in paintings by Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814), but her figure is more fragile and atten¬uated in appearance than those of that Ukiyo-e master, or even the courtesans in Hitsu’s earlier Ukiyo-e works, an example of which can be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (acc. no. 11.7837).The seal reading “Teihakushi” beneath Hitsu’s signature—“Playfully painted by Tory”—sug

Vos in women's clothing, Shibata Gito, c. 1800 - c. 1819 Painting in ink and color on paper from a figure of a fox, dressed in a kimono with a short jacket. Seal and signature at the bottom left. In wooden box. Japan paper. ink. dye Painting in ink and color on paper from a figure of a fox, dressed in a kimono with a short jacket. Seal and signature at the bottom left. In wooden box. Japan paper. ink. dye

Landscape dated 1733 Feng Qiyong Chinese. Landscape. Feng Qiyong (Chinese, active ca. 1730s). China. dated 1733. Hanging scroll; ink on silk. Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Paintings

Fragrant Snow at Broken Bridge Wang Mian Chinese An ambitious scholar, Wang Mian was determined to fulfill his responsibilities as a man of talent despite the frustrations and dangers of life under Mongol rule. He studied philosophy, military tactics and politics. He wrote poems and government treatises, drew up battle plans and painted unforgettable images of the flowering plum that became the principal model for plum painters of Ming and Qing times.In this painting, Wang Main brought into balance the expressive and representational elements of his subject, for in depicting silken blossoms and rough branches, he employed both the delicately descriptive techniques of his academic predecessors and the bold calligraphic brushwork of his literati contemporaries.The flowering plum (Prunus mume, or Japanese apricot) became an object of intense enthusiasm during the Southern Song dynasty and has remained one of China's favorite motifs. Blooming before all other trees, it was welcomed as the

Landscape with Waterfall ca. 1817 Kameda Bsai. Landscape with Waterfall. Kameda Bsai (Japanese, 1752-1826). Japan. ca. 1817. Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Edo period (1615-1868). Paintings

Xiwangmu (Seiobo) and a PineTree. Artist: Kan? Tsunenobu, Japanese, 1636-1713

Spring Breeze of Myriad Pasts Zhang You Chinese Zhang You, a native of Fengyang, Anhui Province, who inherited the hereditary rank of marquis (hou), was known for his lofty ambition and scholarly demeanor. An aficionado of ornamental plants and rocks, he made a specialty of painting plum blossoms, studying with the Hangzhou master Wang Qian (active first half of the 15th century). According to his inscription, Zhang painted this work for a regional military commander in Pingjiang (Suzhou), Jiangsu Province.. Spring Breeze of Myriad Pasts. Zhang You (Chinese, active mid 15th century). China. Hanging scroll; ink on silk. Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Paintings

Old Man and Woman Attributed to Ogata Kōrin Japanese. Old Man and Woman 48984

Landscape after a poem by Wang Wei. Artist: Tang Di (Chinese, ca. 1287-1355). Culture: China. Dimensions: Image: 50 3/4 x 27 1/16 in. (128.9 x 68.7 cm)Overall with mounting: 8 ft. 8 1/8 in. x 33 3/4 in. (264.5 x 85.7 cm)Overall with knobs: 8 ft. 8 1/8 in. x 37 in. (264.5 x 94 cm). Date: dated 1323.Tang Di was one of the first southern scholar-artists to revive the Northern Song landscape traditions of the tenth and eleventh centuries, and this composition is typical of the many large-scale works he produced in emulation of northern prototypes. While Northern Song masters were inclined to depict the dynamic forces of nature through richly descriptive pictorial techniques, Tang reinterpreted the style using more calligraphic conventions. Here, he uses the gnarled trees and desolate lowlands of eleventh-century masters to "illustrate" a couplet by Wang Wei (699-759): I walk to where the water endsAnd sit and watch as clouds arise. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Su Shi (So Shoku) and Pan Lang (Han Rō), early 1600s. Unkoku Tōgan (Japanese, 1547-1618). Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, light color, and gold on paper; overall: 172 x 374 cm (67 11/16 x 147 1/4 in.). This pair of screens depicts episodes from the stories of famed Song-dynasty poets Su Shi of the 1000s and Zhou-dynasty official Pan Lang of the 900s. Both men were banished by their rulers for their perceived missteps. Su Shis comments on a series of economic reforms were seen as criticism of the emperor. Pan Lang composed an ill-advised verse about one of the kings horses. In the left screen Pan rides backward on his donkey as he returns from exile so that he may have a last look at his now beloved Mount Hua. Su Shi, in the right screen, is shown embarking on his journey into exile. The artist of these screens, Unkoku T?gan, was the founder of the Unkoku school of painting, which emulated the style of renowned ink painter Sessh? T?y? (1420-1506). T?gan was the official paint

MandarinDucks. Artist: Sakai ?ho, Japanese, 1808-1841 Artist: Sakai H?itsu, Japanese, 1761-1828

Near the New YoshiwaraGate. Artist: Hishikawa Moronobu, Japanese, 1625-1694

Figures crossing a bridge over a ravine, Samuel Davis, 1757-1819, British, 1783, Gray wash and graphite on moderately thick, silghtly textured, cream laid paper, Sheet: 19 1/4 x 13 3/8 inches (48.9 x 34 cm), bridge (built work), crossing, figures, landscape, ravine, trees

Birds in Landscape right of a pair, early 16th century, Shūgetsu Tōkan, Japanese, 1440 - 1529, 60 1/2 × 141 1/8 in. (153.67 × 358.46 cm) (image)66 × 146 5/8 × 3/4 in. (167.64 × 372.43 × 1.91 cm) (mount), Ink and color on paper, Japan, 16th century, This pair of screens show a variety of birds among trees and flowers, a popular painting subject in the 1500s. At right, a horned owl in the far upper corner watches a boisterous scene below from his perch in the branches of a pine tree: a pair of hawks have zeroed in on a pair of white herons who run for cover toward lotuses and reeds. The left screen also features pairs of birds, including geese, cranes, and crested mynas among bamboo and a plum tree.

Merry-making under aronia blossoms. Left of a pair of six-section folding screens by Naganobu, Kano Isenin (1775-1828)/ Tokyo National Museum/ 18th century/ Japan/ Watercolour and ink on paper/ The Oriental Arts/ 148,6x356/ Landscape,Genre

Sparrows. Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760-1849 Tokyo (Edo)). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 7 1/16 x 11 7/8 in. (17.9 x 30.2 cm). Date: ca. 1825. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Yang Pu Moving His Family 1279-1368 China. With a lively combination of realism and caricature, this detail of the painting Yang Pu Moving His Family depicts a group of peasants transporting a rustic scholar and his family across a stream. Distinguished by his official government cap, with its long streamers, the otherwise disheveled, bare-legged scholar bids farewell to his neighbors on the shore. Servants valiantly attempt to carry children and the familyís belongingsóscrolls, furniture, and dishesóthrough the water. The scholar depicted here may represent Yang Pu, a character described in stories of the Southern Song dynasty (1127ñ1279). According to folklore, Yang Pu initially declined, and then reluctantly accepted, his appointment to a government position in the capital city. Chinese law forbade civil officials from working in their native districts, and as a result, many were required to relocate to distant cities. Painters and poets frequently depicted the theme of farewell, or

Page from Shi Zhu Zhai China. Page from Shi Zhu Zhai. China. Polychrome woodblock print; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong period (1736-95). Prints

Topy Mongo and two ladies; XV-XVIII century (1401-00-00-1800-00-00);Kutyłowski, Roman (1895-1976), Kutyłowski, Roman (1895-1976)-collection, Chinese (culture), coil painting, Chinese art, purchase (provenance), ganglings, vertical ganglia

Peach Blossoms and Peony ca. 1860 Zhao Zhiqian Chinese The preeminent literati artist of his day, Zhao Zhiqian applied his skills as a calligrapher and seal carver to the art of painting. His blending of contrasting compositional and graphic effectspositive forms and negative spaces, dry and wet ink, round and angular movements, heavy and light brushworkderive from his calligraphic training; for this reason, Zhao's painting style, often referred to as "epigraphic," inaugurated a new direction for traditional Chinese artists.The relationship of figure to ground, which is at the heart of seal carving, is seen here in Zhao's bold juxtaposition of the solidly colored peach blossoms and the monochrome peony, which are executed in the two traditional modes of flower painting: the "boneless" method of drawing in color without ink contours and the monochrome outline method. The pinwheel effect of Zhao's swirling cluster of blossoms is held in check by his compact inscription, which counterba

Scholar Admiring Autumn Scenery ca. 1525 Unidentified artist. Scholar Admiring Autumn Scenery 40422

Birds and flowers. Date: 18th century. Origin: Japan. Period: Edo period. Ink and color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Various Pictures by Hokusai 1820 Katsushika Hokusai Japanese. Various Pictures by Hokusai. Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760-1849 Tokyo (Edo)). Japan. 1820. Woodblock printed book; ink and color on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

Picture Book of Selected Insects (The Insect Book) 1788 Kitagawa Utamaro Japanese. Picture Book of Selected Insects (The Insect Book). Kitagawa Utamaro (Japanese, ca. 1754-1806). Japan. 1788. Set of two woodblock printed books; ink, color, and mica (vol. 2) on paper. Edo period (1615-1868). Illustrated Books

For a hundred years I have been a person with no attachments late 18th century Jiun Sonja This single column of brusquely inscribed calligraphy—reading “For a hundred years I have been a person with no attachments” (????? Hyakunen buji bito)—implies that the artist himself or the recipient is a carefree person and reflects the priorities of a monk who trained in the spartan environment of a Zen monastery. Jiun Sonja’s calligraphies, which usually cite Buddhist sayings, are celebrated for their projection of energy, spontaneity, and forcefulness. Following in the tradition of medieval Zen calligraphy, this Edo monk’s handwriting manifests “flying white” in the brushstrokes. Instead of reinking his brush when it ran dry, Jiun intentionally left uninked areas within strokes to suggest a sense of intense and rapid brushwork. Jiun Sonja was originally a monk of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, but was eclectic in his religious training. He studied Buddhist teachings of various sects, but a

Panel (Furnishing Fabric) Made 1763 China. Silk, slit and dovetailed tapestry weave with interlaced outlining wefts; painted details . Manchu

Mount Fuji. Artist: Yokoi Kinkoku (Japanese, 1761-1832). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 31 1/2 × 59 1/8 in. (80 × 150.2 cm). Date: 19th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Ōtsu-e Nirvana of the Buddha (Ōtsu-e Butsu Nehanzu), 1800s. Hakuen (Japanese, active 1850-1870). Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper; overall: 201.9 x 78.7 cm (79 1/2 x 31 in.). The painting parodies the traditional representation of this subject. The death of Buddha is actually the moment he achieves nirvana and escapes the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Hakuen transformed this serious moment (see The Death of the Buddha 1916.1141) into a lively parody with otsu-e subjects. Mourners surround the Buddha. An oni, who pretends to be a priest, holds his gong in the air as he beats his drums and chants prayers. The wisteria maiden appears at the left, bringing water to the mourners. Behind her is an oni in the guise of a thunder god beating his drums. The animals along the foreground represent other otsu-e characters and models. The painting would have amused 19th-century viewers familiar with the usual Buddhist imagery.

Landscape, 1500s. Judō (Japanese, active 16th century). Hanging scroll, ink and light color on paper; overall: 87.6 x 34.9 cm (34 1/2 x 13 3/4 in.).

Quail, Sparrows, and Millet. Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 32 5/16 × 13 5/8 in. (82 × 34.6 cm)Overall with mounting: 65 1/2 × 18 1/2 in. (166.3 × 47 cm)Overall with knobs: 65 1/2 × 20 3/8 in. (166.3 × 51.8 cm). Date: early 16th century.The theme of quail and grasses was widely depicted in Southern Song-dynasty China (1127-1279), most often by artists in attendance at the imperial court. Many of these paintings became treasured objects in temple collections in Japan during the Muromachi period, and served as models for a number of bird and millet images created by 16th century Japanese artists. It is possible too that this type of composition was inspired by works from China's Piling school, also known as the Changzhou school, which specialized in bird and flower imagery. Piling-school paintings, exported from the port-city of Ningpo, found their way into Zen Buddhist temples as well as the collection of the Ashikaga shoguns.Here the richly applied, opaque mineral green pigment

. Rolling painting with a representation of five boys picking persimmons. Free copy to an anonymous work from the Song period in the Palace Museum in Taipei. In wooden box.

Landscapes Tang Yin Chinese A brilliant scholar whose official career was cut short by his inadvertent involvement in an examination scandal in 1499, Tang Yin spent his life pursuing the diversions of an eccentric scholarly playboy; his adventures eventually entered popular legend. While most of his paintings reflect a pleasure-loving existence, this melancholy album explores the themes of struggle, sadness, and the refuge of solitude.While most of his fellow painters in the Suzhou area adopted the calligraphic styles of the Yuan scholar-artists, Tang was able to use the more descriptive ink-wash idiom of the Southern Song masters, particularly that of Li Tang (ca. 1070s-ca. 1150s), to portray realistic scenery. This series of leaves shows extraordinary subtlety in portraying the changing effects of weather and season as well as poetic and psychological moods.. Landscapes. Tang Yin (Chinese, 1470-1524). China. Eight album leaves mounted as a handscroll; ink and color on silk. Ming dyna

Landscape with Figure. Artist: Chen Guan (Chinese, active ca. 1610-40). Culture: China. Dimensions: 6 1/2 x 19 5/8 in. (16.5 x 49.8 cm). Date: dated 1629. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Snipe Over a Marsh from the Three Dusks. Date: 1665. Origin: Japan. Period: Edo period. Ink and color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Fujikawa; Sanchu Yamanaka no Sato Miyajiyama 7th month Hare year 1855 Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese. Fujikawa; Sanchu Yamanaka no Sato Miyajiyama 37087

Boy's Day Carp Streamer and Shoki Banner. Artist: Kawanabe Kyosai (Japanese, 1831-1889). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 37 1/4 × 14 1/8 in. (94.6 × 35.8 cm)Overall with mounting: 73 × 19 1/4 in. (185.4 × 48.9 cm)Overall with knobs: 73 × 21 1/8 in. (185.4 × 53.7 cm). Date: before 1870.On Boys' Day, the fifth day of the fifth month, families displayed carp streamers and images of the demon-queller Shoki, painted in red to protect the household against disease; the rooster symbolizes honesty and fortitude. Kawanabe Kyosai was renowned for his witty, humorous depictions of people, birds, and animals of all varieties. Once arrested for a caricature mocking the government, he became one of the most popular artists of his day. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Flowers Qian Weicheng Chinese. Flowers. Qian Weicheng (Chinese, 1720-1772). China. Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper. Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Paintings

Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion 16th or 17th century Unidentified artist This painting depicts the famous party held by Wang Xizhi at the Orchid Pavilion in A.D. 353, when a group of scholars gathered to write poems and drink wine. Working within the intimate fan format, the artist of this work could not spread the famous stream out as in a handscroll; instead, the men are clustered in the bottom half of the composition as the stream snakes around them. The host of the party sits in the pavilion at right authoring the famous preface that would record the event for posterity.. Gathering at the Orchid Pavilion 51394

Plum and haze, 1814, Woodcuts, Surimono

Sukenobu, Nishikawa, work, The young poetess Komachi launches a model boat in the rain, on the sail of which she has written a five-line poem, (1000 - 2000), woodcut, graphics, sheet width 35.3 cm, sheet height 25.1 cm

Cherry Blossoms. Artist: Sakai Hoitsu (Japanese, 1761-1828). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 8 11/16 × 17 11/16 in. (22 × 45 cm)Overall with mounting: 46 1/8 × 20 13/16 in. (117.2 × 52.8 cm)Overall with knobs: 46 1/8 × 22 11/16 in. (117.2 × 57.6 cm). Date: 18th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Birds and Flowers, late 1500s. Kano Mitsunobu (Japanese, 1565-1608), Kano Shōei (Japanese, 1519-1592). Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, color, and gold on paper; image: 155.5 x 340 cm (61 1/4 x 133 7/8 in.). Unhurried contemplation of these screens reveals that their appearance differs slightly. Notice the shapes of the rocks and pine trunks. The actual ink lines defining their contours and the many brushstrokes providing textual definition to forms and surfaces show two distinct hands at work in the late 16th-century Kyoto. Both Kano Shei and Kano Mitsunobu were well known throughout the country for their skills. As masters of the Kano academic painting style, they naturally favored Chinese-inspired subject matter, such as birds and flowers, rendered in emphatic ink tonalities and placed within mountainous landscape settings. As can be seen in the screen on the right, military class patrons frequently requested scenes depicting predation, such as hunting scenes that were inse

Still life with bronze vessels and flowering plants. Artist: Attributed to Jang Seung-eop (pen name: Owon) (Korean, 1843-1897). Culture: Korea. Dimensions: Overall: 77 in. × 14 ft. 2 in. (195.6 × 431.8 cm). Date: 1894.In the nineteenth century, still-life paintings of precious vessels with flowering plants and/or fruits emerged as a distinct and popular genre (Korean: gimyeong jeoljido). The bronzes in this screen are more stylized or exaggerated versions of late Qing-period (1644-1911) Chinese examples, which were known in Korea from imported collectibles or their representation in Chinese paintings, prints, or lithographs. The left-most panel bears the signature and seal of Jang Seung-eop, the leading court artist of the time. Since students and others signed for the illiterate master, some works attributed to Jang may in fact be collaborations or by his immediate followers. Regardless of authorship, this work is a rare and fine example of turn-of-the-twentieth-century still-life p

Judging a Horse Unidentified artist. Judging a Horse. Unidentified artist. China. Handscroll; ink and color on silk. Ming (1368-1644) or Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Paintings

Mountains and Streams without End Attributed to Shen Zhou (Chinese, 1427-1509). Mountains and Streams without End, 1368-1644. Handscroll, Ink and color on paper, overall approx: 14 5/16 x 351 in. (36.4 x 891.5 cm). Asian Art 1368-1644

Starlings on a Branch. Artist: Kawanabe Kyosai (Japanese, 1831-1889). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 1/2 in. (36.2 x 26.7 cm). Date: ca. 1887. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Sparrows feeding their young. Origin: China. Period: Ming or Qing dynasty. Ink and color on silk. Date: 17th century. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Hitchcock Chair. Dated: c. 1940. Dimensions: overall: 30.4 x 40.6 cm (11 15/16 x 16 in.) Original IAD Object: Rendering is actual size.. Medium: watercolor, colored pencil and graphite on paper. Museum: National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. Author: Genevieve Sherlock.

Landscape after Xia Gui. Artist: Traditionally attributed to Tensho Shubun (Japanese, active 1414-before 1463). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 60 5/8 in. × 9 ft. 6 3/16 in. (154 × 290 cm)Overall with mounting: 68 in. × 9 ft. 11 11/16 in. (172.7 × 304 cm). Date: early-mid-15th century.This depiction of a small, peaceful village nestled beside a stream at the foot of a cliff is an enlarged copy of a small section of a handscroll ascribed to the Southern Song Chinese painter Xia Gui (active 1195-1230). The original painting, called Streams and Mountains, Pure and Remote, survives in numerous copies, but this screen is closest to a fragment owned by the Hatakeyama Memorial Museum of Fine Art in Tokyo. In a later inscription at the far left, the painter Kano Yasunobu (1615- 1685) attributes the screen to the great Muromachiperiod painter-priest Tensho Shubun and includes Shubun's seal and signature. This type of traditional attribution to a celebrated Muromachi painter like Shubun was not unco

Dragon and clouds. ink on paper. Origin: Japan. Period: Edo period. Date: 1615-1868. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Rubbing of an old fisherman from a Ming dynasty stone carving 20th century China. Rubbing of an old fisherman from a Ming dynasty stone carving. China. 20th century. Ink on paper. Rubbing

Making Ceramics first half of the19th century Eiraku Hozen Hozen, the eleventh-generation master of the Nishimura family, learned pottery techniques in Kyoto and produced tea utensils prized by the Sen family of tea masters. After 1827, he sealed his works as Eiraku.” He produced a variety of fine-quality wares, most of them special orders, including blue-and-white porcelain, copies of Chinese porcelain, and Cochin-style (K?chi ware) works with polychrome glazes. One of his signature techniques was the delicate application of overglaze gold patterns (kinrande) on red ground. Furthermore, Hozen made numerous copies of Ninsei ware. He was one of the most influential ceramists in Kyoto in the nineteenth century. An amateur painter, he created this series of six hanging scrolls (18.77.2-.7) depicting the process of ceramic production.A kneeling craftsman slices clay into slabs while behind him an artisan throws a bowl on his potter’s wheel. Finished bowls, on the figure’s left, are lined

Calligraphy Chen Jiru Chinese. Calligraphy 48963

The Orchid Pavilion Unidentified artist. The Orchid Pavilion 51566

Samuel Davis, 1757-1819, British, Figures crossing a bridge over a ravine, 1783. Gray wash and graphite on moderately thick, silghtly textured, cream laid paper.

Immortelle he xiangle. "Dynastie QING. Xviiiheme-Julix siareces. Papier. Park museum. 39383-3 Qing dynasty, immortelle he xangu, young woman, paper, monkey, animal

Swan and Cygnets, 15th century, After Wu Yuanyu, Chinese, active 1080-1104, 62 x 35 1/2 in. (157.48 x 90.17 cm), Ink and color on silk, China, 15th century, This painting is typical of professional flower-and-bird paintings of the early Ming period in its clear reference to older Song dynasty styles. With the overthrow of the Mongols in 1368 and the restoration of native rule, the tendency to emulate the highly accomplished art forms of the pre-Mongol era was quite pronounced.

Tanuki (Racoon Dog) Viewing Its Reflection in Water late 19th century Kawanabe Kysai Japanese Although this image has traditionally been identified as a fox, which is a subject the artist frequently depicted, the shape of the animal’s face and the end of its tail indicates that was more likely meant to depict a tanuki, or Japanese raccoon dog. Both the fox and tanuki are celebrated in Japanese lore Caught in mid-leap as it gazes at a sketchily delineated and ambiguous form, the beast envisioned here recalls the tanuki’s fabled power to assume diverse transformations, frequently that of a beautiful woman, and to beguile the unwary.Kawanabe Kysai was one of the most prolific and original painters of the late Edo and early Meiji eras. His mastery of traditional painting techniques acquired by apprenticeship in the Kano school was transformed by strong personal eccentricity to gorge the lively original art exemplified here. The style and signature, "Seisei Kysai," indicate that this is

Urashima Tar Riding on a Tortoise after 1888 Kawanabe Kysai Japanese. Urashima Tar Riding on a Tortoise. Kawanabe Kysai (Japanese, 1831-1889). Japan. after 1888. Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Meiji period (1868-1912). Paintings

Rocky Landscape with Pines before 1346 Zhang Xun A native of Suzhou, Zhang Xun maintained a peripatetic existence, supporting himself through tutoring and painting. Contemporaries note that he was widely learned, good at literary compositions, and an excellent calligrapher; in painting, he followed tenth-century prototypes, painting bamboo in the outline drawing method and landscapes in the manner of Juran (active ca. 960-95).Adhering strictly to tenth-century models, this landscape in the Juran mode is uncompromisingly austere and abstract. Written when Zhang was about fifty, the poem echoes the melancholy of the uninhabited landscape:On the rocky landscape pine blossoms fall and bloom again.The mountain Ailanthus, useless for its timber, has grownto full size.No cart has ever reached this woodcutter's path.Now with hair gray, I have passed fifty years in vain.. Rocky Landscape with Pines. Zhang Xun (Chinese, ca. 1295-after 1349). China. before 1346. Hanging scroll; ink on silk. Y

Old Plum. Artist: Kano Sansetsu (Japanese, 1589-1651). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Overall (of all four panels): 68 3/4 x 191 1/8 in. (174.6 x 485.5 cm)Overall (a): 68 3/8 x 47 5/8 in. (173.7 x 121 cm)Overall (b): 68 3/8 x 48 3/4 in. (173.7 x 123.8 cm)Overall (c): 68 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. (174 x 121.3 cm)Overall (d): 68 1/2 x 47 3/4 in. (174 x 121.3 cm). Date: 1646.The massive black trunk of an ancient plum tree with bending, twisting branches spans nearly sixteen feet across four sliding panels. The reptilian old tree sprouts blossoms, which convey the atmosphere of a cold early spring morning and symbolize birth and renewal. These panels originally formed one wall of a room in the Tenshoin, a subtemple of Myoshinji, a Zen temple in Kyoto. During the 1880s, they were sold to a private collector and trimmed at the top to conform to the smaller dimensions of his home. On the reverse of these panels was a composition depicting the Chinese theme of the Eight Daoist Immortals, which formed a wa

Scene from The Tale ofGenji

Butterflies from Album of Illustrations for the Tale of Genji, 1600s. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Accordion album; ink, light color, and gold on paper; each leaf: 26.3 x 22 cm (10 3/8 x 8 11/16 in.); painting only: 17 x 20.6 cm (6 11/16 x 8 1/8 in.). This album contains illustrations for the classic literary work the Tale of Genji, authored in the 1000s by Murasaki Shikibu, an aristocrat of the Heian period (794-1185) court. The scenes are painted in the white drawing” (hakuby?) mode, in which a fine ink line is used to depict figures and spaces with great subtlety, punctuated only occasionally by traces of red pigment for a character’s lips, a detail of a garment, or a decorative element. These two scenes illustrate episodes from the chapters Thin Veil of Cloud” (Usugumo) and Barrier Gate” (Sekiya).

Su Shi (So Shoku), early 1600s. Unkoku Tōgan (Japanese, 1547-1618). One of a pair of six-panel folding screens; ink, light color, and gold on paper; image: 155.5 x 360 cm (61 1/4 x 141 3/4 in.); overall: 172 x 374 cm (67 11/16 x 147 1/4 in.).

fine arts, Utagawa Toyokuni (1769 - 1825), onset of winter, woodcut, early 19th century, private collection,

The Actor Segawa Kikunojo III as Kojoro-gitsune (Female Fox) Disguised as Omiki in the Play Komachi-mura Shibai no Shogatsu, Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1789. Katsukawa Shun'ei; Japanese, 1762-1819. Date: 1784-1794. Dimensions: 30.8 x 13.9 cm (12 1/8 x 5 1/2 in.). Color woodblock print; hosoban. Origin: Japan. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, USA.

Hawks, late 15th century, 45 3/16 × 21 11/16 in. (114.78 × 55.09 cm) (image)75 13/16 × 27 1/8 in. (192.56 × 68.9 cm) (overall, without roller), Ink and light colors on silk, China, 15th century, Chinese eagle and hawk compositions were designed to capture not only the birds regal appearance, but also its fierce spirit as a hunting companion or bird of prey. Such temperament is vividly demonstrated in the painting depicting the hawk and a fallen egret: while the hawk is imposing and calm, the egret is panicky and terrified, engaged in a mortal struggle. Paintings of eagles and hawks from the Ming dynasty are often invested with moral messages. The image of a large eagle or hawk standing on a lofty cliff surrounded by a roiling sea has a symbolic overtone that comes from a pun - the Chinese term standing for ocean wave or tide is pronounced in the same fashion as the word meaning court. Thus ‘Qingchao duli can be read as ‘standing alone in clean tides, or ‘standing along in a clean co

Ebisu with a Fishing Basket. Artist: Soga Shohaku (Japanese, 1730-1781). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: Image: 52 1/2 in. × 21 in. (133.4 × 53.3 cm)Overall with mounting: 80 × 25 3/16 in. (203.2 × 64 cm)Overall with knobs: 80 × 27 1/4 in. (203.2 × 69.2 cm). Date: ca. 1770s. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Reminiscence of Jinling 1686 Wang Gai Wang Gai was a gifted stylist who worked in the vibrant city of Nanjing in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Wangs ability to paint in a range of manners led to his selection as the illustrator of the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, a primer on painting that introduced techniques and historical styles. Wang made this scroll in response to a seventeenth-century work that was itself, according to the inscription, made in the style of Zhao Lingrang (ca. 1070-after 1100), imbuing it with multiple layers of engagement with the past.. Reminiscence of Jinling. Wang Gai (Chinese, 1645-1710). China. 1686. Handscroll; ink and color on silk. Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Paintings

Pouring Wine at Dusk at the Riverside Dwellings, second half 19th century, Urakami Shūkin; Artist: Urakami Shunkin, Japanese, 1779 - 1846, 8 3/4 × 6 1/4 in. (22.23 × 15.88 cm) (image, landscape)8 11/16 × 6 1/4 in. (22.07 × 15.88 cm) (image, calligraphy)57 3/4 × 13 13/16 in. (146.69 × 35.08 cm) (mount, without roller), Ink and color on paper, Japan, 19th century, Painting is by Shukin, calligraphy by Shunkin.

A Group of traveling workmen. Origin: China. Date: 1368-1644. Period: Ming dynasty. Ink and color on silk. Museum: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery.

Bird and Frog. Artist: Kawanabe Kyosai (Japanese, 1831-1889). Culture: Japan. Dimensions: 14 1/4 x 10 1/2 in. (36.2 x 26.7 cm). Date: ca. 1887. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

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