gregg baker asian art: few and far between

f e w a n d f a r b e t w e e n ...S I X m a s t e r w o r k s

g r e g g b a k e r a s i a n a r t

few and far between... 2011


A two-fold paper screen painted in ink and colour on a gold ground with the Sanjurokkasen (Thirty-Six Immortal Poets) seated before a kicho (portable curtain).

Seal: Kosan

Japan 19th Century Edo period. Rimpa School

Dimensions: H. 551/4in x W. 561/2in [140cm x 143cm]

Published in Kokka Seiwa kai no.16, 2010, p.12.

The following translation is from the original text by Matsushima Hitoshi. Title: Screen Painting of 36 Poets by Shu Kosan

The theme of 36 poets as a painting is based on an anthology of selected poems Sanjurokuninsen (selection of thirty six poets) by Fujiwara no Kinto (996-1041) and usually includes Kakinomoto no Hitomaroand/or Yamabe no Akahito, two of the most revered of the 36 poets.

It seems that the cynical people of the Edo period found the formal portrayal of the figures of these poets, inherited from the Kamakura, Muromachi and Momoyama periods, a perfect target for parody.

The poets had been painted individually until Ogata Korin (1658-1716) integrated all 36 poets in one picture Sanjurokkasen Byobu (36 poets screen). In the painting, all 36 poets are depicted in the traditionalstyle; however, the composition of the assembled figures, one laid over the other, generates a more abstract relation between them giving the appearance of a party.

One of the characteristics of the Rimpa school was to borrow from the original designs of previous masters and Korin’s 36 poets is no exception with later versions by Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828), Suzuki Kiitsu(1796-1858) and Ikeda Koson (1801-66), just as Korin himself had painted his own version of Fujin Raijin zu (gods of wind and thunder) originally by Sotatsu.

This Sanjurokkasen Byobu was painted by Shu Kosan, a pupil of Ikeda Koson and a member of the Tokugawa household. In this screen by Kosan, who seems to have been active through the modern period (Meiji1868-1912), the ancient formal depiction of the poets has been transformed and is now humorous and somewhat charming.

This subject matter in a screen format is extremely rare, there are only six known examples this being the most recently discovered version. For a similar example by Ikeda Koson (1802-1867) see Mary GriggsBurke Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Arts, N.Y, another by Tatebayashi Kagei (active mid 18th century) in Unfolding Beauty Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art p.46 pl.20, a third by SakaiHoitsu (1761-1828) in Japanese Master Works from The Price Collection p.188 pl.98, the fourth by Sakai Oho in the collection of Mr and Mrs C.D. Carter, U.S.A. in Mayuyama Seventy Years, Vol. 2, p. 242, pl.453, and finally a version attributed to Sakai Hoitsu in the Smithonian Institute, Freer Gallery of Art, U.S.A. in Mayuyama Seventy Years, Vol. 2, p. 242, pl. 452.

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A two-fold paper screen painted in ink and colour on a buff ground with a bijin (beauty) entering a room.

Signed: Toyonao hitsu. (Painted by Toyonao)Seal: Toyonao no in. (The seal of Toyonao)

Japan 18th Century Edo period

Dimensions: H. 65in x W. 71in [164.5cm x 180cm]

The scene depicts an Oiran (high ranking courtesan) entering a room through a shoji door, her kamuro (trainee courtesan) awaits her and one can assume they are about to meet an important client. Both theOiran and her attendant have matching tortoise-shell combs, (it was a common practice for them to complement each other in their dress) the kamuro also holds a gilded uchiwa (fan) decorated with a landscape. The left hand panel depicts a tokonoma (formal display area) with a kakemono (hanging scroll) and a bronze flower vessel containing an ikebana arrangement of kakitsubata (iris) a classic reference to the month of May.

Whilst we have been unable to find a specific reference to Toyonao, there is a long line of ukiyo-e artists who use Toyo as the first character of their name. This particular painting bears strong similarities to thework of Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1750) considered to be the most accomplished and influential Ukiyo-e painter in Kyoto during the first half of the 18th century.

Screens painted in the Ukiyo-e style are rare. For a six-fold example from the collection of the British Museum, London, see: Ukiyo-e Paintings in the British Museum p.106 pl.56. For a kakemono treated in a similar manner by Sukenobu in the collection of Sumisho, Tokyo see: Images du Monde Flotant, Peintures et Estampes Japonaises XVIIe – XVIIIe siècles, Galeries Nationals du Grand Palais, Paris, pp. 220/221 no.86 and another by the same artist in the collection of the British Museum see: Ukiyo-e Paintings p. 83 pl.32.

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An eight-fold paper screen painted in ink and colour on a buff ground with tsuru (cranes) in a river landscape.

Signed: Shigen Oho hitsuRound Seal: Shishigen Square seal: Sen-o-shi-in

Japan 19th Century Edo period. Rimpa school

Dimensions: H. 691/2in x W. 1713/4in [176.5cm x 436cm]

Sakai Senshin (1808-1841), go (art names) Oho, Hansei Shigen, and Ugean II. Born in Edo (present day Tokyo), the second son of the head priest of the Ichigatani Joei-ji, a branch of the Honganji temple in Tsukiji(Tokyo); he was adopted at the age of twelve by the leader of the Rimpa school, Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828). Working closely with his adoptive father, he studied both literature and painting and many of his worksare clearly inspired by both Hoitsu and his fellow student Suzuki Kiitsu (1796-1858)

It was a traditional practise of Japanese painting schools to reproduce exceptional works from previous masters and this particularly striking and innovative portrayal of cranes is no exception. It would appearthat there are only three known examples of these stylised “marching cranes” in a screen format; the original, a pair of six-fold screens by Ogata Korin (1658-1716) are currently in the collection of the SmithsonianMuseum. For the second example, a pair of six-fold screens by Suzuki Kiitsu see: Japanese Masterpieces from the Price Collection, U.S.A. p. 195, pl 107, and finally, this eight-fold version by Sakai Oho

For two-fold screens by the artist see: Rimpa Painting vol. 5; p. 74, pl. 39 in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum and p. 75 pl. 40 in The Ruth & Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art, Ca. U.S.A.

Further works by the artist can be found in the collections of: Mary Griggs Burke Collection, U.S.A.; The Hosomi Museum, Kyoto; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Seattle Art Museum, Washington; Yale UniversityArt Gallery, New Haven; Indianapolis Museum of Art.



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A two-fold paper screen painted in ink on a gold and buff ground. The scene, contained within a roundel of gunbai (war fan) form, depicts a winter landscape with geese in flight and three Chinese scholars playing Go in a boat moored at a reed covered river bank.

Signed: Sesshu Basson Hokkyo Toeki Hitsu Painted by Unkoku Toeki, rank of Hokkyo, a descendant of Sesshu.Seals: 1. Unkoku 2. Toeki


Dimensions: H. 681/4in x W. 753/4in [173cm x192cm]

Unkoku Motonao (1591-1644), go (art name) Toeki. Born in Hiroshima, Suo Province, the second son and pupil of Unkoku Togan (1547-1618). He succeeded his father as the official painter to the Mori family, and became known as Sesshu IV. An artist of considerable talent, specialising in landscapes and figures, he received the honorary title of Hokkyo in 1626.

Works by the artist can be found in the collections of: Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan; Freer Gallery of Art, Washington; Joei-ji,Yamaguchi-ken; Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York; Museum für Kunst und Gerwerbe, Hamburg; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor.


A pair of six-fold paper screens painted in ink and colour on a buff ground. The first screen depicts three sailing vessels and their crew at sea. Each ship isidentified by the corresponding inscription, the first inscription on the right hand side of the screen reads; Nankin-sen (Chinese trading vessel), the next,Oranda-sen (Dutch ship) and the third Shamu-sen [ship from Siam (Thailand)].

The second screen depicts foreign traders and their entourage. Reading from the right the first two panels are inscribed Tosei tatsujin danjo (Manchurian menand women), the middle two Daimin-jin danjo [men and women of the Great Ming Empire] and the final two Oranda-jin-danjo narabi kurobo [Dutch men andwomen and their Indonesian servants]. Below each inscription is a detailed painting of people from the corresponding country, with the last two panels depicting Jan Cock Blomhoff, his wife, baby and attendants.


Dimensions: H. 493/4in x W. 1111/2in [126cm x283cm]

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All foreign vessels arriving at Deshima were inspected by the Japanese port authorities and their sails seized until the ship was ready to leave. This would appear to be the case with the Nankin-sen (Chinese trading vessel) which is at anchor, with no visible sign of its sails.

The Oranda-sen (Dutch ship), also known as Kurofune (Black Ship), sailed to Japan once a year to trade in Chinese silk, European textiles, spices from the Dutch East Indies, deer hides from Siam, hides and sugarfrom Taiwan and ivory from Africa and south east Asia. All weapons and religious books found on board were sealed and confiscated and no religious services were allowed on the island. On the return trip thecargo would include silver, gold, copper, camphor, porcelain, lacquer wares and rice.

This pair of screens were inspired by the arrival in Japan of the newly appointed opperhoofd (director) of the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or Dutch East India Company), Jan Cock Blomhoff, in 1817.He arrived with his wife Titia, whom he had married in 1815, his son Johannes, Petronella Munts, a Dutch wet nurse and their Indonesian maid, Maraty.

Blomhoff had been there once before as the warehouse foreman for the VOC from 1809 to 1813 without incident, however, this second visit accompanied by females was the cause of considerable scandal aswomen were expressly barred from entering Deshima. Their presence was reported to the Shogunate by the Nagasaki magistrate resulting in the expulsion of the ladies and the little boy in December 1817.During their short stay, they were the focus of much attention and were often drawn by artists who had never seen European women, this resulted in numerous paintings being produced and five hundred different prints were widely circulated throughout the country.

Japan’s first direct contact with the West began in the middle of the sixteenth century when Portuguese maritime explorers reached the small island of Tanegashima off the coast of Kyushu. Soon after, the Jesuitleader Francis Xavier (1506-1552) arrived in Japan via China to commence missionary activities. Other Europeans such as the Spanish, Dutch and English also visited Japan in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Just as in China, these Europeans came to be known as namban, or “southern barbarians,” based on their sailing patterns of reaching Japan from the south.

When the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) succeeded in unifying Japan, Christian activities slowed down. By the beginning of the Edo or Tokugawa period (1615-1867), Christianity was deemed a threatand banned, after decades of warfare; the government was concerned with any potential threats to the stability of the nation. A series of edicts were passed, including the Sakoku ("closed door" policy) in 1638,which stated that the only foreigners allowed to trade with Japan were the Dutch, Chinese, Koreans and people from the kingdom of Ryukyu. The Dutch were the only Westerners granted this exclusive agreement,as they were not interested in proselytising and were there for the sole purpose of trade.

The Dutch presence in Japan was closely monitored and controlled, for example, each year the VOC opperhoofd (director) was expected to travel to Edo to offer tribute to the Shogun. They were largely free todo as they pleased on the island but were explicitly ordered to work on Sunday, the Christian day of rest. For nearly two hundred and fifty years a series of VOC traders lived, worked and seemed to thrive in thisconfined location.

While there are numerous depictions of so called “Namban Byobu” (southern barbarian screens) dating from the 16th/17th century, later depictions of the same subject matter featuring Dutch Black ships arerare and to the best of our knowledge the only other example is a two-fold version in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

A set of four fusuma (sliding doors) painted in ink on a buff ground. The moonlit landscape shows eleven puppies at play and sleeping on a riverbank.

Signed: Heian Rosetsu shaSeals: Nagasawa Gyo in and Rosetsu

Japan 18th Century Edo period. Maruyama-Shijo school

Dimensions: H. 661/4in x W. 147in [168.5cm x 374cm]

Japanese buildings are often made up of rooms divided by fusuma (sliding doors); these are made of paper within a wood frame and gave rise to an important form of interior decoration. Castles, temples andthe homes of the rich would employ famous artists to decorate these interiors. Maruyama Okyo and his pupils, including Rosetsu, painted a number of fusuma for temples where they remain to this day; andtherefore, are rarely seen on the market. In 1786, on Okyo’s recommendation, Rosetsu toured Wakayama to paint fusuma in various temples there; he also received commissions from wealthy families in the area.

It is fair to assume that this set of fusuma, bearing the same seals as some of those used by Rosetsu whilst in the Province were painted during his tour of the region.

Nagasawa Rosetsu 1754 – 1799. Maruyama painter. Rosetsu was born and raised in the family of a low-ranking samurai of the Yoda clan in Yamashiro. While still young, he went to Kyoto to study with MaruyamaOkyo, the founder of the Maruyama School of Painting, where he learned the fundamentals of drawing. He was not satisfied with the well-balanced, classical approach of his master and created his own style,resulting in a large number of bold, idiosyncratic works. On Okyo’s recommendation Rosetsu left for southern Kii Province (now Wakayama Prefecture) in 1786 and stayed for a year at the Muryoji, Sodoji andJojuji temples of the Zen Buddhist sect. Rosetsu created over 140 wall and screen paintings during this short period of time, most of which have been designated Important Cultural Properties. He was in his mid-thirties when he executed these works yet they survive in these temples to this day, they are, without exception, very ambitious paintings. He was an extraordinarily versatile artist, at times close to the suiboku (literally; water and ink) style of the Muromachi school of painting, and at others borrowing themes from Ukiyo-e masters and painting famous Bijin. He often combined the bold composition of the RimpaSchool with the humour of Zenga, frequently using a flat brush, or holding the brush in a slanting position, using different tones of ink in the same broad stroke. Occasionally he worked in a sort of Western technique called doro-e, a thick paint mixed with Chinese white.

For a similar set of four fusuma in the collection of Mr & Mrs C.D. Carter, U.S.A. see: Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Volume Two, p.248, pl. 464; a set of fusuma featuring puppies see: Exhibition Nagasawa Rosetsu:The 200th Anniversary of His Death. Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc 2000. pp. 58, 59, and a furosaki screen in the collection of Edo Sen-ke Kawakami Sosetsu, Tokyo, see: Nagasawa Rosetsu The Fanciful Painter, MihoMuseum, pp. 96 & 97, pl. 40.

Works by the artist can be found in the collections of: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Art Museum, Princeton University, New Jersey; British Museum, London; Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; Daijo-ji Kasumi-mura,Hyogo-ken; Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, California; Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.; Itsukushima Shrine Treasure House, Miyajima, Hiroshima-ken; ItsuoArt Museum, Osaka; Joju-ji, Wakayama-ken; Kotohira Shrine Museum, Kagawa-ken; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; Muryo-ji, Wakayama-ken; Nezu ArtMuseum, Tokyo; Sodo-ji, Wakayama-ken; Stanford University Art Gallery and Museum, California; Tokyo National Museum; University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor; Worcester Art Museum, Massachusetts.

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gregg baker asian art: few and far between

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