Kanō Sansetsu (1590–1651)
Wang Ziyou Visits Dai Andao
Color and gold on paper, single two-panel folding screen
Seal: Sansetsu
171 x 189 cm (overall)
Seal: Sansetsu
171 x 189 cm (overall)
Further images
The gentleman sitting on the boat in the foreground of the right panel is Wang Ziyou, a son of the renowned calligrapher Wang Xizhi. He set out on a boat at a snowy night to see his friend Dai Andao, but turned back upon reaching Dai’s gate. When asked about the reason for this act, he replied: “I took the trip on my im- pulse. Once the impulse was gone, I just returned. Why must I see Dai?”
The story is traced to the Ren Dan chapter of Shishuo Xinyu (“A New Account of Tales of the World”), a collection of historical anecdotes compiled by Liu Yiqing in the fifth century. Paintings on the subject date back to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) in China, and to the Muromachi period (1392–1573) in Japan. The Kano school’s earliest surviving example of the subject is found in Kano Motonobu’s fusuma (sliding door panel) paintings depicting Chinese figures in snowy landscape at Reiun-in temple, and its composition is inherited by succeeding Kano painters.
This byobu (folding screen) also adopts the Motonobu composition of the house, the boat, the moon and the rampant bamboo in the garden. There is a bridge over a small waterfall in the middle ground in this byobu, a motif depicted next to the house in the Motonobu fusuma. The house here is represented in a statelier manner with its gate facing the viewer, in comparison to the Motonobu fusuma. Out of the gate, Sansetsu depicted a few steps along the riverbank in this and other works, a motif that is absent in the Motonobu fusuma. Nevertheless, the same steps are ob- served in one painting of the same subject out of a set of twelve scrolls, Zen Monks and Chinese Figures, painted by Kano Sanraku, Sansetsu’s teacher. Sansetsu must have referred to both the Motonobu fusuma and the Sanraku painting upon executing the present work.
The house in this byobu appears too luxurious for Dai Andao as a secluded man. Osano Shigetoshi, referring to the scene depicted in Sansetsu’s paintings, suggests that it is unclear whether Wang is departing from his home or turning back upon arrival to Dai’s house. In fact, the same can be commented on many other artists’ paintings on the subject. Whether the house belongs to Dao or Wang is the key question. On the one hand, the symbolism of the bamboo surrounding the house might suggest that it belongs to Wang, who is known as a great lover of bamboo. This assumption, however, is problematic, for in some works the bamboo is not as conspicuously represented as in others. On the other, as the gate of Dai’s house marks the climax of the episode, the house depicted in this scene should belong to Dai. Sansetsu might have positioned the gate facing the viewer so as to highlight Wang’s action of turning back upon reaching Dai’s house. Moreover, the representation of Dai’s luxurious house is in accordance with the description in the Qi Yi chapter of Shishuo Xinyu, which states that Dai’s house was a gift from by Xi Chao that looks like an official residence to Dai.
The landscape in the background is magnificently executed. Sansetsu painted a comparable landscape on a screen behind Emperor Xuanzong in his six-panel byobu, Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, in the Kyoto National Museum collection. The ink landscape occupies the center of the Kyoto National Museum byo bu, contrast- ing strikingly with the vibrantly colored surroundings. In the present byobu, the moon, partially concealed by a horizontal cloud, generates a sense of mystery, as if watching the whole scene from a far, detached distance.
Kano Sansetsu (painter; 1590−1651)
Also known as Mitsuie; Jasokuken; Togenshi; Shohakusanjin and etc.
Hizen-born painter and a pivotal figure of the Kano School in the early Edo period. Disciple and adopted son-in-law of Kano Sanraku. Studied the Song Chinese painters, such as Muqi’s works, and developed a more decorative style compared to that of Kano Sanraku. Best known for his sansui (landscape), human figures, and kacho ( ower-and-bird) paintings. Designated as Hokkyo, the third rank in the Buddhist priest hierarchy.
The story is traced to the Ren Dan chapter of Shishuo Xinyu (“A New Account of Tales of the World”), a collection of historical anecdotes compiled by Liu Yiqing in the fifth century. Paintings on the subject date back to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) in China, and to the Muromachi period (1392–1573) in Japan. The Kano school’s earliest surviving example of the subject is found in Kano Motonobu’s fusuma (sliding door panel) paintings depicting Chinese figures in snowy landscape at Reiun-in temple, and its composition is inherited by succeeding Kano painters.
This byobu (folding screen) also adopts the Motonobu composition of the house, the boat, the moon and the rampant bamboo in the garden. There is a bridge over a small waterfall in the middle ground in this byobu, a motif depicted next to the house in the Motonobu fusuma. The house here is represented in a statelier manner with its gate facing the viewer, in comparison to the Motonobu fusuma. Out of the gate, Sansetsu depicted a few steps along the riverbank in this and other works, a motif that is absent in the Motonobu fusuma. Nevertheless, the same steps are ob- served in one painting of the same subject out of a set of twelve scrolls, Zen Monks and Chinese Figures, painted by Kano Sanraku, Sansetsu’s teacher. Sansetsu must have referred to both the Motonobu fusuma and the Sanraku painting upon executing the present work.
The house in this byobu appears too luxurious for Dai Andao as a secluded man. Osano Shigetoshi, referring to the scene depicted in Sansetsu’s paintings, suggests that it is unclear whether Wang is departing from his home or turning back upon arrival to Dai’s house. In fact, the same can be commented on many other artists’ paintings on the subject. Whether the house belongs to Dao or Wang is the key question. On the one hand, the symbolism of the bamboo surrounding the house might suggest that it belongs to Wang, who is known as a great lover of bamboo. This assumption, however, is problematic, for in some works the bamboo is not as conspicuously represented as in others. On the other, as the gate of Dai’s house marks the climax of the episode, the house depicted in this scene should belong to Dai. Sansetsu might have positioned the gate facing the viewer so as to highlight Wang’s action of turning back upon reaching Dai’s house. Moreover, the representation of Dai’s luxurious house is in accordance with the description in the Qi Yi chapter of Shishuo Xinyu, which states that Dai’s house was a gift from by Xi Chao that looks like an official residence to Dai.
The landscape in the background is magnificently executed. Sansetsu painted a comparable landscape on a screen behind Emperor Xuanzong in his six-panel byobu, Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei, in the Kyoto National Museum collection. The ink landscape occupies the center of the Kyoto National Museum byo bu, contrast- ing strikingly with the vibrantly colored surroundings. In the present byobu, the moon, partially concealed by a horizontal cloud, generates a sense of mystery, as if watching the whole scene from a far, detached distance.
Kano Sansetsu (painter; 1590−1651)
Also known as Mitsuie; Jasokuken; Togenshi; Shohakusanjin and etc.
Hizen-born painter and a pivotal figure of the Kano School in the early Edo period. Disciple and adopted son-in-law of Kano Sanraku. Studied the Song Chinese painters, such as Muqi’s works, and developed a more decorative style compared to that of Kano Sanraku. Best known for his sansui (landscape), human figures, and kacho ( ower-and-bird) paintings. Designated as Hokkyo, the third rank in the Buddhist priest hierarchy.