Taiga-style Calligraphy 1839

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drawing, paper, ink

drawing

asian-art

japan

paper

ink

line

calligraphy

Dimensions: 44 7/8 × 16 1/16 in. (113.98 × 40.8 cm) (image)69 3/4 × 20 15/16 in. (177.17 × 53.18 cm) (mount, without roller)

Fūgai Honkō created this calligraphy scroll in ink on paper sometime before his death in 1847. Honkō was a Zen Buddhist priest in the Edo period of Japan. His calligraphy is known for its strong individualistic style. The Taiga style references the work of Ike no Taiga, an earlier master of Japanese calligraphy, but Honkō has made it his own. The Edo period was a time of relative peace and prosperity in Japan, but it was also a time of strict social hierarchy. Buddhist monasteries offered one of the few routes for social mobility. Honkō’s calligraphy, with its bold brushstrokes and unconventional compositions, can be seen as a reaction against the rigid social norms of the time. It is a work of self-expression by a member of a religious institution with a unique position in society. To understand Honkō’s calligraphy more fully, you might research the Edo period, the history of Zen Buddhism in Japan, and the art of Ike no Taiga.

Comments

minneapolisinstituteofart over 1 year ago

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Fūgai playfully experimented with tonality, size, and writing in this work. One can see the ink running out, and the brush being dipped into ink through the change in ink tones. Taking advantage of the looseness of structure of the running-cursive script, he varies the size of each character as well, elongating some characters while flattening others, thus creating a visual rhythm in addition to the poetic rhymes. Fūgai gained the nickname “octopus Fūgai” because of his signature, seen at the bottom left beginning with an arched line and a squiggle coming out of it, which resembles the creature. He was a Sōtō sect Zen monk but was well-known for his painting and calligraphy.念公神法上池水扁鵲須來療我疴莫怪仲冬幽谷裡山靈習習發鶯歌廣澤老先生賜良藥水以療傷痛Reminiscing that you divinely summoned [for me] the“upper-pond” water to drink,Bian Que has come to cure me of my illness!Do not blame mid-winter here in this hidden valleyThe Mountain Spirit conjures in profusion the songs of orioles!Mr. Hirosawa bestowed me fine medicinal water to cure myillness(Trans. adapted from Stephen Addiss)