Poem on Peach Blossoms 1880

Curator: This is Kikuchi Sankei's "Poem on Peach Blossoms," created around 1880. It's an ink-on-paper drawing and print, showcasing masterful calligraphy. Editor: It strikes me as a dance, or maybe a windy day captured on fabric. There's movement even in the stillness. The characters almost seem to be reaching for each other. Curator: You’ve intuited something key. This piece exemplifies the Japanese appreciation for the ephemeral, a fleeting moment rendered permanent through deliberate, controlled brushstrokes. The choice of ink and paper isn’t accidental; it's about capturing light and shadow, the breath of the artist, if you will. Editor: Speaking of breath, how was paper like this actually made? You have all this plant fiber reduced, pressed, and dried laboriously just to receive ink in such fluid strokes. You see the artist, sure, but it makes you wonder about the whole system of production surrounding these materials. Was this made with mulberry, hemp, bamboo? Where was the pulp sourced from, and who would have processed that? Curator: Indeed. The artistry extends far beyond just the calligrapher’s hand, doesn’t it? The work involved just preparing the materials themselves is truly substantial, but getting back to Sankei's brush, the variations in line weight add such depth. Certain strokes are deliberate, confident, and others are more wispy, tentative. Editor: Right. You have those really pronounced pools of ink, almost wet-looking even now, alongside faded lines. You’ve got a whole register of textural affects and that really points you back to the production process, because ink is nothing if not highly variable material in and of itself. Curator: Absolutely. "Poem on Peach Blossoms," beyond being a visually captivating work, speaks to the interwoven narratives of labor, artistry, and nature that are captured in such refined materials. Editor: Right, like the silk trade from the 19th Century. Now when I think about how this was created in relation to nature, the final presentation seems far removed.