Ink on paper
65.9 x 73.1 cm (26 x 28¾ in.)
Mounting 156.5 x 77.5 cm (61½ x 30½ in.)
Signed and sealed by Shimizu Kosho
Wooden box
An impressive portrait of Daruma with the promising inscription, The Seven Fortunes Rotate in Succession. The sentence suggests that one’s fortune may change over time, and that times of hardship will be followed by times of happiness. It’s a reminder to remain hopeful during difficult times and to stay grounded during moments of success.
17th century
Later Kintsugi repairs
H: 5.8 cm (2¼ in.)
Diam: 14.8 cm (5¾ in.)
Wooden box
All unbroken teabowls are alike; each and every mended teabowl is unique in its own way. In the delicate art of Kintsugi, each fracture tells a story of resilience, as a testament to the journey of restoration where imperfections are celebrated and highlighted as marks of an individual biography with hardship and happiness.
This Kintsugi piece is a composition of several bits and pieces. The shape is imperfect and the clarity and simplicity of the smooth gold lacquer surfaces playfully contrast the rough ceramic surfaces.
Landscape Painting, 1891
Ink on paper
124.9 x 49.2 cm (49 x 19¼ in.)
Mounting 196 x 63 cm (77 x 24¾ in.)
Old wooden box with inscription
Okuhara Seiko had a particular affection for seals. She used not less than 134 different ones, different in style, size and inscription. Many of her seals were very poetic, like the ones on this scroll: The eye is big whereas the moon is small, The bat returns home straight away, and Anxious for antiquity. Each of which is published in the separate volume dedicated to Seiko’s seals, accompanying the exhibition at the Ibaraki Prefectural Museum of History in 2001.
The lid of the box is inscribed Okuhara Seiko landscape in ink (suiboku sansui). The inside of the lid reveals that the painting has been made for Hinata San’emon (1865-1940) of Toyosaka. The inscription is dated to July 1891 (Meiji 24).
Letter with poem
Ink on paper
17.5 x 48.5 cm (6¾ x 19 in.)
Mounting 103 x 51 cm (40½ x 20 in.)
Old wooden box with inscription
Letter with poem written by Yosa Buson to his artist friend Kurokawa Kigyoku (1732-1756).
I am writing to apologize for not being able to come to your place as I caught a cold. I know I wrote to come over last night. Rest assured, I will come to visit you as soon as I feel better. And I received some sardines from my home province, which I haven’t been to in such a long time. Although it’s only half of it, I hope you enjoy the savory fish. I wish I could have shared it with you in person.
When I was writing this letter it suddenly hailed.
December 10th, Yahan-o.
Night.
Biting the frozen brush
With a remaining tooth.
The translation of the poem is by Reginald Horace Blyth, in: Haiku: Autumn-winter (1952), p. 17
Note: The scroll is creased. You can hardly see that on the images. Thus we include remounting in the price.
Moon over Azure Mountains, 1899
Ink and color on paper
18¾ x 13¼ in. (47.6 x 33.7 cm )
Mounting: 50½ x 18¾ in. (128.5 x 47.5 cm )
(Inv. no. 2357)
Fukuda Kodojin’s “earliest documented work inscribed with the date January 1899: Moon over Azure Mountains. (…) Devoid of any human activity, the lofty view depicts an evening scene with a gnarled plum tree in the center foreground and a moon in the distance. His poem, composed specifically for this painting, conveys the sentiment evoked by the image. It was later included in his 1912 anthology Seisho’s Mountain Studio Collection.”
Here at dusk, where cranes return,
The sheer cliffs show plum blossoms.
Beneath them the azure of a cold pond,
Where a mountain monk draws water, moon-adorned.
Published and exhibited.
Exhibition catalogue Minneapolis Institute of Art, “Fukuda Kodōjin: Japan’s Great Poet and Landscape Artist” (April 22, 2023 – July 23, 2023), Kat. No 1. p. 27.
Ink and color on fabric
9 ½ x 11 ¼ in. (24.6 x 28.9 cm )
Mounting: 41 ½ x 16 in. (105.5 x 41 cm)
Wooden box
(Inv. no 2212)
In the beauties of nature, there’s no guest, no host –
On the bank of a river, I sit on a straw mat.
And no matter how poor I am,
I will always know this austere valley.
Tea bowl
Glazed ceramic
H: 2¼ in. (5.7 cm), Diam. 4¼ in. (10.8 cm)
Wooden box
(Inv. no. 2674)
She was obsessed. Obsessed with poetry. Obsessed with pottery. And she scratched her poetry onto her pottery. In doing so Otagaki Rengetsu put an end to the long standing separation of immaterial beauty of poetry and the material poetry of ceramics. She made them one. This was bold, particularly when it came to ceramics used in the tea ceremony, celebrating rusticity, austerity, and simplicity. And still today we sense Rengetsu’s artistic boldness in her poetic pottery and potted poetry.
On Mount Yoshida
behind the tips of the pines
the moon has fallen—
in Kita-Shirakawa
the sound of a bell.
Ink on fabric
44½ x 13½ in. (113 x 34 cm)
Mounting: 74½ x 20¾ in. (189 x 53 cm)
Original box (tomobako)
(Inv. no. 2600)
Beneath tall pines, a hermit ponders,
Clouds bloom from peaks, nature’s wonders.
Why paint when a single letter bestows
Soul to drawings, in its silent prose.
Letter to Unge Daigan (1773-1850)
Ink on paper
7½ x 14 in. (19 x 35.5 cm)
Mounting 49½ x 20½ in. (126 x 52 cm)
Wooden box
(Inv. no. 2603)
The rain, writes Chikuden, kept him from visiting his old friend Unge Daigan in Kyoto. Daigan was a priest, poet, and a painter – a true literatus in a monk’s robe – and was teaching at the seminary attached to Higashi Honganji-Temple (which is today’s Otani University) in Kyoto. But given the fact that Chikuden lived several hundred miles away from Daigan, the rainy season wouldn’t be a good moment to go on travels anyway. Yet going to a nearby shrine seemed possible. A ginger plant stood in Chikuden’s way, giving him a deeper understanding of the world. And then he returned home. Since he didn’t want to wait for the sky to clear up again Chikuden sent his son to the shrine to pray for Daigan.
In the rainy season I could not visit you as it was raining all the time. Unexpectedly the sky cleared up and it turned autumn like. I thought it would be a good idea to go to Kibaru Shrine. But on the way there I stopped at a village and rested in a horse stable. There was a ginger plant growing about three or four feet high and I said to myself: We live our lives unworried but once we taste the world, we realize it can be spicy. Then it rained again, my friend. The morning was cloudy and wet. And the cricket is waiting to hear from a friend. These are the matters these days. There is nothing remarkable. I will write other things in another letter. About my going to the shrine will be in the letter after this. – 18th October. Old friend Unge – [signed] Kozo, [sealed] Chikuden. I wish you and those around you well. The other day I have sent my son [i.e., Tanomura Chokunyu (1804-1907)] to the shrine to pray for you.
Letter to Takeyama Kanshichi (1854-1907)
Ink on paper
21 ¼ x 40 ¾ in. (54 x 103 cm)
Mounting: 19 ¾ x 65 in. (50.5 x 165 cm)
Wooden box
(Inv. no 2582)
The Meiji Restoration of 1868 was a turning point. Tea culture went through a period of decline. One of the reasons for this was the fact the supportive classes, the feudal lords (daimyo) and the upper- class samurai, no longer existed. Another reason was that a wave of modernization rolled over the country undermining cultural traditions, one of them being the Way of Tea. Zui’o Sosa, the 11th generation head of Omotesenke and the other heads of the Sen-houses struggled to keep the tradition alive.
And while the Meiji Restauration meant struggle to some it meant success to others. One of them was Takeyama Kanshichi (1854-1907), the addressee of this letter. He was from unpretentious descent, the offspring of a family of Kimono wholesalers, and he was aware of the opportunities the new era had to offer. By the end of the century, he was one of the wealthiest citizens of Nagoya. Electricity, railways, fertilizers, and textiles made him rich. For the Sen houses, particularly for the Omotesenke, it was important if not vital, to build, maintain, and hone relationships with the new wealthy. This well-spaced letter is written in a distinct, mature, and self-confident style. It is a reply to Kanshichi’s telegram (!) and is basically an apology for not being at home.
It started to be cold. Nevertheless, I would love to invite you again to my humble place. I would organize little festivity for you. And when you come, I’ll be there to welcome you. Last time when you came to Kyoto, I received your kind telegram which I have appreciated. I was so relieved that there is nothing wrong with your health. I heard that you had a hard time finding [what I have been looking for]. I am so grateful for your kindness. When you come back to Kyoto, I must see you right away to thank you [in person]. Because of the holidays I do not bother you any longer. Please accept this apology. December 30th, Sen Sosa. To Mr Takeyama Kanshichi.
We welcome you to view our website often for new Japanese paintings, calligraphy and ceramics from the 16th to the early 20th century.
Several highlights include collections of Kintsugi Teabowls, Calligraphy Letters and important Hanging Scrolls.
Please find these works, as well as many others, available here on our website.
RECENTLY CLOSED EXHIBITION: ASIA WEEK NEW YORK 2024
Japanese Art | Pre-modern and beyond
March 15 – 19, 2024
Asia Week Hours: Mar 15-19, 11am-6pm (otherwise by appointment)
Leslie Feely 1044 Madison Avenue, Suite #4F
We are pleased to present Japanese Art | Pre-modern and beyond during this upcoming Asia Week New York, featuring outstanding artists’ letters, trending Kintsugi pieces and paintings by Fukuda Kodojin which recently were exhibited in the artist’s monumental retrospective at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. We welcome you to visit us at 1044 Madison Avenue, Suite #4F from March 15th through the 19th.
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