The sparse mountain forest and the dark, shadowed mountain behind bring a sense of coldness, responding to the title of this work, Kanzan kurin zu, literally “cold mountains and forest of solitude.” Involvement in the activities of the 1918 established Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai (Association for the Creation of National Painting) brought such distress to Murakami Kagaku, physically and mentally, that his asthma was worsened and resulted in his moving away from Kyoto to Ashiya in 1923 first, and to Hanakuma in Kobe in 1927 in the end. Since then, Kagaku produced a large number of works on the subject of the mountains in Muko nearby. Among the mountains of Rokko, Kagaku took off his geta (wooden clog), sat on them and absorbed the sacred air of the mountains. Returning home, he painted with a brush infused with the sacred air, a practice that unites painting with praying to the invisible sacred. Although this is a painting of a modest scale, the inspiration it brings to the viewer is solid. 

Murakami Kagaku (nihonga painter; 1888–1939)
Osaka-born nihonga painter. His real name is Takeda Shin’ichi. Graduated from Kyoto Municipal Special School of Painting. Selected to exhibit at Bunten (Ministry of Education Art Exhibition) and given the tokusen (special prize that grants entry without examination in the following year) privilege in 1916. Dissatisfied with Bunten’s idealism and founded Kokuga Sosaku Kyokai (Association for the Creation of National Painting) with Tsuchida Bakusen, Ono Chikkyo, Sakakibara Shiho, and Nonagase Banka in 1918. Moved to Ashiya and Kobe due to worsening health. Led a recluse life away from the art world ever since. Concentrated on the subjects of Buddhism and the Rokkosan mountains, his works possess a meditative and spiritual tone.