Japanese Painting, Hanging Scroll, Circa 1930, Amaranth and Rooster

Tanaka Tessen (b.1890) Dahlias and Roosters Taisho period, circa 1920 Framed painting. Mineral pigments and ink on silk. Dimensions (framed): H. 159 cm x W. 97 cm x D. 2.5 cm (62.5” x 38” x 1”) An ornate and complex composition in which the artist explores almost the entire painting surface. The coloration is bold and evocative and the tinted silk ground recreates the warm golden glow of sunset. Soft, luminous brushwork details the black feathers of the roosters, which seem to cloud and blur in counterpoint to the sharper points of the eyes and beaks. Their brilliant red combs balance the composition, echoing the rich burgundy hues of the dahlias; the flowers exquisite and lifelike. Dahlias were an exotic subject favored by painters of the Taisho era. The painting belongs to the school of Kyoto Nihonga, exemplifying the principles of decorative elegance and consumate brush technique with which it was intimately associated. Painters of the time relied on the Shijo school method, basing the forms of the composition from life sketches. Sometimes they were then integrated with elements derived from Chinese bird and flower...

Playful Cat Hirose Toho (1875-1930) Hanging scroll, ink, mineral pigments and gofun on silk. Painting inscription: Toho Sha Painting seals: Upper - Hirose Hitoshi Lo...

Iwase Hirotaka (1808-1877) Koi and Water Plants Hanging scroll, ink, color, gold wash and gold flecks on silk Inscription: Hirotaka Seal: Ille...

Bamboo in moonlight Gamo Rakan (1784-1866) Hanging scroll, ink on silk. Dimensions: Scroll: 201 cm x 58 cm Image: 137 cm x 45 cm In this early 19th century work by Gamo Rakan a light ink wash applied to the silk background silhouettes the moon and suggests the atmosphere of early evening. Even though it is a literati subject, Rakan’s bamboo is quite realistic with a strong decorative style. The painting finds its inspiration from Chinese Ming dynasty painters who often used a single-tone, jet black stroke to emphasize the calligraphic nature of bamboo. In a different era, decorative would have been seen as somewhat unrefined. But increasingly in the Edo period, it was the hallmark of high style. The Japanese people, in particular the rising merchant class, had gradually become apathetic toward the traditional Sesshu and Kano schools of painting. Chinese professional and amateur painters living in the port of Nagasaki during the 18th century had a profound effect on Japanese painting and the freshness of their style and its decorative appeal contributed greatly to its popularity. Gamo Rakan’s teacher, Tani Buncho...

Anonymous Summer willow and sparrows Taisho period, circa 1920 Framed painting. Mineral pigments, mica, gold, ink and gofun on silk Dimensions (framed): H. 98 cm x W. 135 cm x D...

Nakamura Daizaburo Turtledoves in a Peach Tree Taisho period, circa 1920 Framed painting. Mineral pigments, ink and gofun on silk Signed: Daizaburo Dimensions (framed)...

Two Japanese scroll painting depicts scenes from the Tale of Genji (Genji-E), from Edo period. These painting were purchased from Odewara Shoten in the...

This painting represents a man waiting under a dark tree. The composition is extremely simple but suggestive. The artist, with few elements, can, in fact, create a vivid and dynamic scene, based on the tension between the strong ink stain that renders the tree and the elegant figure of the man, dressed in an aristocratic robe. Painter and designer, Kamisaka Sekka...

This is a picture of a cat drawn by a person named "Toshizumi Nitta" from the end of the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period. She is a very simple and cute cat. He is a vassal of the Tokugawa Shogunate, born in Ota City, Gunma Prefecture (southern part of Gunma Prefecture). He was related to the Tokugawa family and lived in a large mansion in the Ota clan in Gunma prefecture. However, the Nitta family's territory was very small, and they were by no means a wealthy vassal. He seems to have lived quite poorly. So he painted cats and sold them to people. The Nitta family continued to draw pictures of this cat for four generations. "Nitta toshizumi" is equivalent to the fourth generation. During the Edo period, sericulture was thriving in the Kanto region. Cats were said to be the gods of silkworms, as they drive away mice, the natural enemies of silkworms. It was the Nitta family who drew such a cat on paper, pasted it in the silkworm chamber, and sold it as a mouse repellent. There were also other monks who painted pictures of cats, but the Nitta family in particular was related to the Tokugawa family, so people believed that paintings of cats had special powers. , a lot of paintings...

An antique ink and color on paper hanging scroll (kakejiku) with brocade border. It appears to be a fragment of a larger hand scroll depicting a procession of a lord with his entoura...

A fine matching pair of hanging scrolls ink on paper mounted in green brocade borders circa Edo period (17-18th century). The Kano school painting depicts wild geese in the reeds by the margin of water, a popular subject borrowed from the Chinese tradition. Both painting were signed as Tanyu with a red seal of Morinobu, his birth name. The storage box is also present and was inscribed with the title Painting of Geese and Reeds and Kano Tanyu...

Watanabe Seitei, also known as Watanabe Shotei (1851–1918), was born in late Edo period. He was one of the earliest Japanese artists who visited and be...