Year of beginning

 

I hope you are all doing well. Fortunately we are doing well. Thankfully.

At Reiwa Antiques, we went on a buying trip early in the New Year. We would like to introduce some of them to you. We hope you enjoy them and we will continue to strive to offer something to please you in 2024. We look forward to working with you again this year.

 

< Introduction to the artist's work by Staff S. >

 

双鶴　Two Cranes and Rising Sun

岡野洞山美高 Okanodozan Yoshitaka (1770-1856)
Born in Meiwa 7. He was the third generation of official painters of the Tsuwano domain. He was a student of Kano Doshun Yoshinobu and was appointed as Hokyo. He died in Ansei 2 at the age of 87.

with signature 'Hokyo Dozan Nanajugosai' 法橋 洞山 七十五歳 and seal 'Fujiwara' 藤原

This is a twin crane painting by Okano Dozan Yoshitaka when he was seventy-five years old. I really like the atmosphere of cranes in the Kano school. The indistinct border between the rising sun and the cranes makes me imagine that they may be cranes living in the heavens rather than cranes on earth. However, it is a little disappointing that there are insect infestations.

 

 

群雀　Abundant Rice and Playful Many Sparrows

森脇雲渓 Moriwaki Unkei (1858-?)
Japanese painter. Born in Saitama. A member of the Kawagoe clan. His name was Komajiro. Studied under Koizumi Danzan. Specialized in flower-and-bird paintings.

with signature 'Unkei' 雲渓 and seal 'Moriwaki Unkei' 森脇 雲渓

Large grains of rice hang down, telling us of a bountiful harvest. A sparrow, round and round after eating rice. I love how the sparrows' cheeks are puffed up. The sparrows look so lively as they play.

https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/78399905

 

 

秋　Autumn Leaves and Three Birds

荒木十畝 Araki Jippo (1872-1944)
Japanese painter in Nagasaki during the Meiji and early Showa periods. Studied under 荒木寛畝 Araki Kanpo (1831-1915) and later became his son-in-law. He specialized in flower-and-bird paintings and exhibited his works at the Bunten and Teiten Exhibitions.

with signature 'Jippo sei' 十畝 生 and seal 'Jippo' 十畝
丁未初夏日写 indicates early summer in 1907

In this painting, birds are happily playing amidst maple trees changing colors in autumn. However, it is signed as having been painted in the summer of 1907, so when I looked at the maple trees at the top and bottom of the hanging scroll again after seeing the signature, I felt the maple trees were redder. I thought, well, it must have been a very hot summer.

 

 

栗鼠　Squirrel with grapes

with signature 'Tousai Eiko hitsu' 涷雨斎栄廣 筆

It is cute to imagine a squirrel enjoying the delicious harvest of wild grapes. The way it dexterously walks on the thin grape vines to get the grapes makes me smile. Do you think they can tell how good mood they are by their fluffy tails? I've never seen the real thing, so I'm curious.

 

 

狸　Raccoon dog watching the moon

山本梅逸 Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783-1856)
Nanga artist of the late Edo period. He first studied painting under Yamada Kyujo (1747-1794), Cho Gessho (1765-1832). He and Nakabayashi Chikuto (1776-1853) studied painting under Kamiya Tenyu. He went to Kyoto to hone his painting skills. He excelled in flower-and-bird painting and Sansui landscape painting. His flower-and-bird paintings were especially well-received for the elegance and splendor of his coloring.

with signature 'Baiitsu' 梅逸 and seal 'Yamamoto Ryo' 山本亮

 

I see this raccoon as if he is moonshining, but what does it look like to you?　Since there is no sake cup or sake bottle, was the raccoon's wife angry with him and took it away? 　Or is he looking up at the moon in memory of someone? I think it is a very emotional piece.

  

 

猿猴捕月　Monkey Capture Moon

狩野栄川院典信 Kano Eisenin Michinobu (1730-1790)
Kano school painter of the mid-Edo period. The eldest son of 狩野栄川古信 Kano Eisen Hisanobu (1696-1731). He was adopted by 狩野受川 Kano Jusen (1715-1731), but when his foster father died prematurely, he succeeded to the Kano family in Kobikicho at the age of 2. He was involved in the production of paintings for the walls of Edo Castle and the Imperial Palace, as well as paintings of folding screens presented from Korea. He was favored by Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa (1684-1751) and Ieharu (1737-1786), and raised the status of the Kobikicho Kano family to the highest level among shogunate painters (Oku-Eshi). Among his students were 鈴木鄰松 Suzuki Rinsho (1732-1803) and 鳥文斎栄之 Chobunsai Eishi (1756-1829), who later became an ukiyoe artist.

The Monkey Catching the Moon is often used as a metaphor for the ruin caused by unjustified ambition. In the story in the Buddhist scriptures that inspired the title, the Monkey King thought the moon had fallen into a well and went with his men to save it, only to be drowned as a result. I think the Monkey King's desire to save the moon is wonderful. He has love for the moon. There are many interpretations of this Buddhist scripture....
I feel that the ripples on this hanging scroll look like a taiji diagram, so I stare at it, but how do you see it? I think everyone feels differently. Yin and yang, heaven and earth, front and back. Did the Monkey King and his men drown and die? Or....
I am very happy to come across a piece of work that captures so many different imaginations.

 

 

 虎　Fierce Tiger

with signature and seal 'Unpu' 雲風

The style of a champion. I have tried to express in a few words the impression I had when I saw this tiger. Oh, I don't see it as a cat family lover's favourite. I was just overwhelmed when I saw it hanging on the wall in front of me. Oh, and it is not an illusion due to my short stature. What can I say, it was cool to see him standing there, looking alert and sturdy. Doesn't he look like he's protecting something?

 

 

Cloud Dragon Incense Burner

This is an incense burner of a dragon with four claws and a jeweled bead.
I like the fact that it looks a bit blurred, even though he probably intends to glare at you. Don't you feel you can have a conversation with a dragon with a charming face rather than a scary one?