Ink on paper, pair of hanging scrolls
Inscribed with a Chinese-style poem on each
With authentication by Yamana Tsurayoshi and Maeda Kosetsu
Seal: Taisei ken
103 x 43.8 cm each
203 x 59.5 cm each (overall)
During Tawaraya Sotatsu’s time, a number of crow painting masterpieces were produced: the folding screens attributed to the Kano school artists in the collections of Daigo-ji temple in Kyoto and the Seattle Asian Art Museum, for example, and a folding screen by Hasegawa Tohaku. While crows in these works are represented in a single tone of black ink, they are executed in a distinctive manner in a number of Sotatsu’s paintings. In the left scroll of this pair of paintings, Sotatsu notably applied the tarashikomi (literally “dripped in”) technique, the application of pigments onto a moist, layered surface to give an amorphous effect, an innovative painting method initiated by Sotatsu himself, which is often associated with the Rinpa school. Moreover, Sotatsu depicted the crows in dark ink using the horinuri (literally, “carved coloring”) technique in both scrolls , leaving the thinly drawn ink outline partially visible. Horinuri is also considered one of Sotatsu’s signature, which can be seen in works such as Oxen in Chomyo-ji temple, Kyoto. In addition, the representation of feathers in the present work is similar to that of feathers in Water Fowl in the Lotus Pond at the Kyoto National Museum. All the above features make the present work a representative Sotatsu painting.
Not only the technical aspect, but also the composition of the Chomyo-ji Oxen is similar to the present work: Just as the facing positioning of the two oxen in the former, the crows are intentionally presented as a facing pair. These two works, together with So tatsu’s renowned Wind and Thunder Gods pair of folding screens (Kennin-ji temple, Kyoto), feature another typical Sotatsu style, which juxtaposes two figures of one motif in a pair of scrolls or folding screens
The authors of the inscriptions on the two scrolls are unidentified. The poem in the right scroll hymns the young crow that hunts earthworms to feed its aged parents, comparing it to Zengshen whose practice of lial piety is honored by many. It praises the crow even more than Zengshen, for the bird carries auspicious messages. The poem in the left scroll is an enigma. The rst half translates: “O crow, hearing your sounds of bliss and grief, I think you are a sibyl who controls human destination.” The latter half of the poem narrates the Chinese myth of the archery hero Houyi, who was ordered by the Emperor Yao to shoot the ten suns where crows had occupied, shot down nine and left one in the end.
Tawaraya Sotatsu (painter; act. early 17th century)
Also known as Ietsu
Noto or Kaga-born painter in the Azuchi-momoyama and early Edo period. Lived in Hoshu-ji temple, Kyoto, and learned Kano Eitoku’s painting methods, as well as ancient Tosa line-drawing style. Regarded as the originator of the Rimpa School. Close to calligraphers including Karasumaru Mitsuhiro and Hon’ami Koetsu. Used seals such as inen, taiseiken.