View of Mount Hōrai 1800 - 1868

Kano Tansui painted this hanging scroll of Mount Hōrai in ink and color on silk during the 19th century. The symbolic mountain appears frequently in Chinese and Japanese art as a representation of an earthly paradise. The Kano school of painting was favored by the shogunate, so Tansui would have been painting for an elite clientele, reflecting their interests and aspirations. Note how the pagoda blends in with the landscape. The symbolism of the pagoda form, as well as the mountain, derives from Chinese culture; in Japan, these symbols became associated with the power of the ruling shogunate. The mountain itself also invokes Shinto beliefs about the sacredness of the natural landscape. Art historians can learn about the status of the Kano school, and the beliefs of the elite classes, by studying the iconography of images like this.