Cockerel and Tengu-Mask c. 1775

Editor: So, this hanging scroll, "Cockerel and Tengu-Mask" by Ito Jakuchu, around 1775... It’s done with ink and watercolor on paper. I find the composition really striking—a rooster beneath a rather… unsettling mask. What do you make of this pairing? Curator: Ah, yes, Jakuchu. He’s quite the provocateur, isn't he? To me, the rooster, rendered with such detail, almost hyperreal, represents the earthly realm, that fierce life force, you know? But then we have this Tengu mask peering down – slightly goofy even. It is an amusingly sinister, mountain-dwelling trickster spirit. He represents something other, a watchful gaze from beyond the every day. Don't you think that creates a delicious tension? Editor: Absolutely! It's that tension that grabs me. The realism of the rooster clashing with the mythological Tengu. Were these two figures commonly juxtaposed at the time? Curator: Not exactly in this way, but Jakuchu had a fantastic sense of humour and wasn't afraid to blend the sacred and the absurd. He’s inviting us to consider different realms, maybe even poking fun at the strict hierarchies of traditional Japanese art. He's asking us, "What if the divine, the monstrous, and the everyday all share the same space?" He challenges, you see? He laughs. Are we laughing with him, or at him? Perhaps both! Editor: I like the idea of him as a sort of artistic trickster himself, blending styles and meanings. It feels very modern somehow. Curator: Precisely! He anticipated so much. And there’s such joy in his subversion. Next time you're feeling confined by rules, remember Jakuchu and his rooster. Editor: Definitely! I'll think of this every time I feel stuck creatively. Curator: A wonderful painting. Now, shall we find a dragon?