Lot 261: Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) Edo Period, 18th century

Edo Period, 18th century
Kakejiku, a pair of scrolls forming a diptych, painted in sujimegaki on paper, the right scroll depicting a hachitataki (itinerant entertainer who pays house visits) wearing a haori jacket holding a gourd in his left hand and a stick in the other, together with a samurai wearing a kasa and clutching a fishing pole, standing beneath a lone bird flying over their heads; the left of two oharame with their bundles of firewood, standing besides a saramawashi (a juggler balancing a dish with a pole), both paintings bearing two seals To Jokin in and Jakuchu koji, with two wood storage boxes. Both 114cm x 52.5cm (44 7/8in x 20¾in). (4).

??? ????? ?? ???? ????/18??

Provenance: a Japanese private institution.

Exhibited: Miho Museum, published and illustrated in the Exhibition Catalogue, JAKUCHU Wonderland, Miho Museum, 2009, p108, pl.40.

Exhibited: Kyoto National Museum, published and illustrated in the Exhibition Catalogue, Jakuchu: Tokubetsu Tenrankai Botsugo 200 nen, October 24th - November 26th 2000, Kyoto Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 2000, p.362, no.138.

According to a biography written by his close friend the Zen monk Daiten Kenjo (1719-1801) in 1766, who would later become abbot of Shokoku-ji, Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) 'could not bear' to paint human forms. Famed primarily for his meticulous polychrome renderings of birds and flowers (doshoku sai-e), these hanging scrolls depicting genre scenes in black ink on paper are therefore a rarity amongst Jakuchu's oeuvre, and offer an intriguing insight into the artist's deep involvement with Zen ink painting traditions.

In one of these two paintings, a performer balances on one leg atop a stacked pile of bound bundles of wood. His head tilted back, he supports the base of a long wooden rod on his chin, on top of which balances a rice bowl. Oblivious to this precarious stunt, a wood vendor (oharame) sits resting on an adjacent pile of wood, whilst another carries more on her back. In the other, a pilgrim offers a gourd to a travelling samurai whilst a sparrow flies overhead.

The humorous and highly abbreviated figures are painted with a deliberate naivety; their obscured faces perhaps reflecting Jakuchu's aversion to painting the details of the human figure. Jakuchu's mastery of suibokuga is evident in his striking juxtaposition of various ink tones and brush techniques, with block shapes of saturated black robes opening onto white, child-like limbs delicately outlined in pale ink, whilst sharp flicks of black are used to depict the inro, twigs, swords and sandals. The bundles of wood are depicted with a distinctive wet brush technique known as sujime-gaki, for which Jakuchu is renowned.

Sujime-gaki (split-ink method) was an unorthodox technique, avoided by more mainstream artists such as the Kano School, who labelled it as an 'undesireable technique'. It was widely and effectively used by Jakuchu, notably in his monochrome depictions of chrysanthemums (see illustrations in The Paintings of Jakuchu, Money L. Hickman, Tokyo, 1989, p.137). Such versatility in ink work is found throughout Jakuchu's painting, and communicates his familiarity with a whole range of suibokuga and polychrome painters, from Chinese artists of the Song and Ming dynasties, to more contemporary Japanese artists such as Ogata Korin (1678-1716). Moreover, the striking composition of these hanging scrolls even merits comparison with individualist Chinese ink painters such as Bada Shanren (1626-1705).

Monochrome ink painting, or suibokuga, rose to prominence in Japan from China along with Chan (Zen) Buddhism under the patronage of the Ashikaga shoguns (1338-1573). The study of Chinese originals by Japanese Zen Buddhist monks soon gave rise to an independent Japanese suibokuga painting tradition, epitomised by artists such as Sesshu and Shubun. By Jakuchu's lifetime in the 18th century, Kyoto was home to an entire legacy of Chinese and Japanese ink paintings, the majority of which were available for Jakuchu's personal perusal via his strong associations with the Zen clergy.

Jakuchu's passion for painting was noteworthy from childhood, but as the first son and heir to a family-run wholesale grocery business in Kyoto, he was brought up to take over the business upon his father's death. When this eventually happened, Jakuchu was just 23 years of age, and so he was unable to fully devote himself to painting until he passed control of the business to his younger brother in 1756. Judging by the seals, this work is placed around the late 1760's. For comparable works by Jakuchu from around this period, see The Two Transcendants Gama and Tekkai, illustrated by Money L. Hickman, The Paintings of Jakuchu, Tokyo, Japan, 1989, pp.149-149.