Flowering Cherry with Poem Slipsc. 1675by Tosa Mitsuoki T h e A r t I n s tit u t e o f C h ica g o Department of Museum Education Division of Student and Teacher Programs The Elizabeth Stone Robson Teacher Resource Center Tosa Mitsuoki Cherry blossom viewing (hanami), a tradition going back( Japanese, 1617–1691) many centuries, has always been a favorite theme depicted by Japanese poets and artists in word and image. In this screenFlowering Cherry with painting, premier court painter Tosa Mitsuoki pays tributePoem Slips, c. 1675 to courtly and literary customs by portraying the tradition of viewing cherry blossoms to celebrate the arrival of spring.Six-panel screen (one of a pair); ink, color, gold leaf,and gold powder on silk Bursting with delicate white petals, a firmly anchored cherry tree looms out of a mist of golden powder. Wafting slips of144 cm x 286 cm paper, embellished with gold leaf and inscribed with classi- cal poems about spring, hang from the twisted tree branchesKate S. Buckingham Endowment, 1977.156 that stretch uninterruptedly across all six panels of the screen painting. The interspersed bright whites of the blossoms and colors of the poem slips add to the colorful, patterned design of the screen. Visual play is continued with the curving lines of the tree trunk and branches, wafting poem slips, and bamboo leaves that project diagonally behind the cluster of rocks, cre- ating a sense of energy and movement. Circles of green fungus speckled on the cherry branches, tree trunk, and rocks suggest that this site might be laden with heavy mists and moist air. Dwarf bamboo leaves indicate this site is in the mountains because this plant grows only at high altitudes. The sum of these clues might lead a Japanese viewer to conclude that this is Yoshino, a mountain that became famous during the Heian Period (784–1185) as the setting for imperial cherry blossom viewing parties. A narrow strip of brocade encloses this con- tinuous picture along the top and bottom of each panel and down the exterior sides of the lateral panels. Folding screens (byobu), such as the Flowering Cherry with Poem Slips and its counterpart, Autumn Maple with Poem Slips, were an important element in Japanese interiors. They separated spaces, protected from drafts, and offered visual pleasure to viewers through their painted surfaces. Layers of paper made from the pulp of the mulberry tree are placed over a light wooden foundation. The byobu stands by itself; double hinges, also constructed of paper, allow the owner to fold the panels in two different directions, creating a zig-zag arrange- ment. Silk borders covering the edges make it possible to move a screen without touching the glued painting. A screen’s layout follows that of the hand scroll—the viewer reads it from right to left. In this pair of screens created by Tosa Mitsuoki, Flowering Cherry with Poem Slips is read first. When placed together, a mighty tree stands on the right- and left-hand sides of these paired screens, giving it a sense of greater openness through the central panels. At a time when unrefined samurai ruled and civil wars left the imperial court of Kyoto financially and spiritually broken, members of the aristocracy looked back to the classical age of the 11th and 12th centuries to reaffirm their cultural iden- tity. Tosa Mitsuoki fulfilled this melancholic longing for the romantic past by painting for Tofukumon-in (1607–1678), wife of retired Emperor Gominzuno-o (ruled 1611–1629), a screen that recalls the artistic, literary, and intellectual elements of the Japanese court culture during the Heian and early Kamakura (1185–1333) period. Courtiers of the Heian period observed the rites of spring through outings that centered on the viewing of flowering cherries. Elegantly attired aristocrats brought sake The Tosa School specialized in literary and historical Japaneseand sweet treats made especially for the occasion. Inspired by subject matters painted in the native yamato-e style, whichthe blossoms, they composed poems with 31 syllables (waka) was developed during Japan’s period of seclusion in the 10thwhich were later recorded in imperial poetry anthologies. through 12th centuries. Yamato-e painters employed flat, vivid colors and sensitive brushwork called tsukuri-e (literallyIn Flowering Cherry with Poem Slips, the waka inscribed on the “manufactured painting”). This painting process is so preciseslip come from these earlier anthologies.1 While viewing cherry that it hides the brushwork and imparts to the viewer a smoothblossoms, the empress and her courtiers engaged in a contest surface. In Flowering Cherry with Poem Slips, however, Mitsuokiof recalling these verses of classical poetry associated with combined the traditional yamato-e with his Kano-trainedspring. Contestants wrote their verses in calligraphy on verti- contemporaries’ technique of kara-e, the Chinese calligraphiccal strips of paper, which were then tied on tree branches. In ink practice. He layered rock formations in a frontal mannerhomage to the empress, the 17th-century courtiers, ministers, and attempted not to hide the contours shaping them. In ad-and princes who may have participated in these spring excur- dition, Mitsuoki used parallel, horizontal ink strokes to createsions personally inscribed each particular poem slip painted the effect of volume and mass in the tree trunk. Bands ofon this screen. Mitsuoki’s painting thus serves as tribute to the mist and clouds were achieved through successive ink washes,continuity of generations and native Japanese traditions. while pointillist dots added texture to the painting.Tosa Mitsuoki was born in Sakai, Japan, in 1617. He belonged to To complement the luxurious aesthetic of his court patronsa hereditary line of painters, the Tosa School, where he trained and in accordance to the yamato-e tradition, Mitsuokias an apprentice. Mitsuoki moved to Kyoto in 1634 with his featured sumptuous mineral pigments. Malachite, cinnabar,father, Mitsunori, and continued his training under other artists gold and silver were used in his screen paintings. Malachitein the workshop after Mitsunori’s death. The Tosa family and supplies the green of the bamboo and lichen. Cinnabarother ateliers maintained their profession by passing on their produces the red of the poem slips. Silver, now tarnished tovocational skills and property from generation to generation a steel-gray, is visible on the unwritten side of a number ofwithin the professional family or ei (house or household). poem slips. Gold, in the form of leaf and powder, has beenPromising workshop apprentices were incorporated into the applied to catch and radiate light, causing the entire screen tohousehold through adoption or marriage. Members of the glow. The atmospheric effects created by the sprinkled goldTosa workshop used the same family name and a characteris- powder minimize suggestions of pictorial depth and impose atic personal name, usually taking on mitsu (bright) or hiro strong two-dimensionality on the screen. Mitsuoki’s choice of(extensive) as the first of a two-character name. Elders materials not only declares the splendor of the court, but themaintained a family’s lineage and reputation by selecting the boldness of his composition is so compelling that the elegancefamily/workshop head or eimoto (literally “household founda- of the tree alone reminds the viewer of the imperial court’s roletion”) from a pool that included the first-born son, a gifted as the authority on taste and national traditions. He believedjunior relative, an adopted workshop employee, or an in-law. that “artists must select details, leave things to the viewer’sArtistic and business abilities were major criteria in making imagination…and if the essence of painting can be reduced tosuch a decision. a single term, it would be ‘lightness’—lightness in color, detail, and spirit.”2 No extraneous details, such as figures picnickingMitsuoki, throughout his life, tackled a diverse range of subject under the tree or courtiers attaching poem slips to the treematter and styles in response to the interest of his patrons and branches, were needed to convey his message. Even thoughas a means by which the Tosa workshop was able to survive. he composed a design to embellish the poetry or narrative ofHis “canvas” also varied from picture albums to folding fans, the painting, the powerful rendering of the tree overshadowssome of which were imbued with symbolic and ceremonial the literary content of the poem slips.prestige. Before becoming the superintendent and chiefpainter in the imperial court in 1657, the Tosa family struggled Although the modern cherry blossom viewing parties are notto survive. Nearly one hundred years earlier, their workshop as refined as those in the past, the Japanese still enjoy thisleft Kyoto due to the loss of its eimoto, Mitsumoto, in the popular rite of springtime. People celebrate the flowering ofmidst of a civil war battle. Decades of war left the imperial cherry blossoms by holding hanami picnics with friends andcourt in shambles. Military generals throughout Japan battled families beneath the trees. Beloved for the shape and colortogether and against each other in an attempt to become of the petals, these blossoms reflect the traditional Japaneseshogun, the military ruler of Japan. Finally, in 1615, Tokugawa values of purity and simplicity. Since it flowers very briefly andIeyasu defeated a former ally to become shogun, forging peace then scatters, the cherry blossom has also become a symbolthrough legislation and establishing his military capital in Edo of their appreciation for fleeting or ephemeral beauty.(modern day Tokyo). With peace, the Tokugawa shogunategave financial support to the imperial court in its capital, Kyoto. NotesMitsuoki’s appointment thus came at a time of post-war re- 1 For an identification of the poet, poem, poetry anthology, and 17th century callig-construction and was regarded as a symbol of the renaissance rapher, see Carolyn Wheelwright, ed., Word in Flower: The Visualization of Classicalof the court and the unification of the nation. Literature in Seventeenth-Century Japan (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1989), p. 116. 2 Rosenfeld, John M. “Japanese Studio Practice: The Tosa Family and the Imperial Painting Office in the Seventeenth Century.” Studies in the History of Art, v. 38 (1993): p. 93. Glossary Classroom Activities and Discussion Questionsapprentice: one who is learning a trade, art, or calling by • In ancient Japan, objects from nature were taken to sym-practical experience under skilled workers bolize important ideals. The cherry blossom, for example, embodies the Japanese values of simplicity, purity, andatelier: artist’s workshop or studio where apprentices, an appreciation of fleeting beauty. A samurai’s life wasstudents, or young family members receive instruction proverbially compared to the short-lived cherry blossoms because he was fully prepared to sacrifice his life at anycalligraphic: a quality of line characterized by variations in time for his leader’s cause. This beloved flower embodiesink tone and flowing, elegant brushwork; related to artistic the national character of the Japanese. Its five-notched petalor stylized lettering or handwriting motif has been used to decorate everyday objects such as kimonos, lacquer boxes, tables, pottery, etc. Pick an objectcinnabar: red mercuric sulfide used as a pigment; also and create your own design using the cherry blossom motif.called vermillion Write step-by-step instructions on how you decorated your object and what materials you used.courtiers: members of the imperial court • The Japanese consider cherry blossom viewing an annual riteKano: rival workshop of the Tosa family; worked primarily of spring. In our country, what are some activities or ritualsfor the samurai class; specialized in ink painting derived from that we engage in to celebrate the beginning of spring?pictorial styles, materials, and subjects recently imported Consider other seasons as well. Create a comparative chartfrom China of the seasons, with one column for Japan and another for Illinois. Discuss the clothing that we wear, as well as the typeslichen: a type of plant made up of alga and fungus usually of plants and animals that are found during each season.found growing on a rock or a tree After listing all the items associated with each season, create a calendar representing spring, summer, winter, and fall.malachite: green mineral carbonate of copper used as a pigment Include poetry, photographs, plants, drawings, etc., inspired by these seasons.pointillist: practice in art of applying small strokes or dots ofcolor to a surface • Imagine that you are a writer for a travel magazine. The editor assigns you to go to Japan and write a report based on yoursake: brewed alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice experiences at the cherry blossom viewing festival. Step into the screen and write about what you see, feel, smell, andsamurai: the warrior aristocracy of Japan hear. Where would you want to go? What would you want to see? Further your imagination by adding to your storyshogun: a title given to the supreme military dictator of Japan characters such as the empress, her courtiers, and her father,during the Edo period (1615–1868) Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada. What food did they bring with them? What games did they play? How were they dressed?yamato-e: literally “Japanese pictures”; paintings of nativesubject matter, often literary or historical tales, executed with • Compose a script for a TV commercial that promotes a specialgreat detail, bright colors, and precious materials. After the 5-day trip to Japan for the cherry blossom viewing event.Civil War period in Japan, yamato-e was associated with the Consider how much you will charge. What transportation willimperial court and traditional culture. you use? What else is included in the package? Invite fellow students to act it out. • If this screen is 115 3/8 inches wide and has six panels, what is the width of each panel in centimeters? (2.5 cm = 1 inch) • Design an advertisement for the travel section of the Chicago Tribune. Your ad agency can only afford an 8 1/2 x 11 segment. What would you include in the ad and how would you design it to instantly catch someone’s eye? • Based on the plants illustrated by Tosa Mitsuoki, we can Related Resourcesassume that the cherry tree is located in an area laden with for Teachersmoist air and heavy mists. What causes mists and at whattemperature do they start to develop? Which regions in Japan Grilli, Elise. Golden Screen Paintings of Japan. New York:are more conducive to fogs? Why? Have your students investi- Crown. 1962.gate Japan’s topography. How is it different/similar to the U.S.? Hofelt, Miranda. Japanese Screens in the Art Institute of Chicago.• Investigate other artistic schools against whom the Tosa Slide packet. Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1996.family was competing. Compare/contrast their styles, materials,and techniques. Create a chart that lists your findings and Impey, O. R. The Art of the Japanese Folding Screen: theinclude pictures of objects as visual examples. Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Ashmolean Museum. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1997.• The size of the image on the poster is 18 inches high but thescreen’s actual height is 56 1/8 inches. What is the percentage Jacobsen, Robert D. The Art of Japanese Screen Painting:of the poster height to the actual height of the screen? Selections from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Minneapolis, MN: The Institute, 1984.• Have students pretend that they are one of the empress’scourtiers. Explain that Tosa Mitsuoki asked them to compose Murase, Miyeko. Byobu: Japanese Screens from New Yorka poem about spring, which they will eventually write on the Collections. Greenwich: New York Graphic Society, 1971.screen he created for the empress. Have them practice theirhaiku on a slip of 4 1/2 x 11 inch paper. Haiku is a Japanese lyric Rosenfeld, John. “Japanese Studio Practice: The Tosa Familypoem of a fixed, 17-syllable form that often points to an obser- and the Imperial Painting Office in the Seventeenth Century.”vation of nature. The first line has five syllables, the second has Studies in the History of Art, v. 38 (1993): pp. 79-102.seven, and the third has five, for a total of seventeen syllables. The Arts of Asia: China, Korea, Japan. Teacher Manual. Chicago: The wind blows softly The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993. as I gaze up at the tree sweet petals in sightOnce they’ve finished their poem, hang it on a tree drawn ona bulletin board. Have your own hanami celebration, with food,music, and poetry reading!• Find Mount Yoshino (in Nara) on a map. What is thedistance between Chicago and Mount Yoshino by air? Howwould the journey take by airplane? Calculate the rate of speed.• Many 19th century artists such as Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947),Edouard Vuillard (1868–1940), and James Abbott McNeillWhistler (1834–1903) were influenced by Japanese screens.Investigate what inspired them and how they adapted screenpainting into their artistic style and methods. What subjectmatter did they depict? What materials did they use? Howwere these screens used? (For more information, see Beyondthe Easel: Decorative Paintings by Bonnard, Vuillard, Denis andRoussel, 1890–1930 at http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/easel/home/index.html.) Related Resources Internet Resourcesfor StudentsNakayama, Kaneyoshi, ed. Pictorial Encyclopedia of Japanese AskAsia Home PageCulture: the Soul and Heritage of Japan. Tokyo: Gakken Co., 1987. http://www.askasia.org/teachers/Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. New York: Harry N. AskAsia: Adult-Free ZoneAbrams Inc. Publishers, 1993. http://www.aasianst.org/EAA/gleaningswinter99.htmWells, Ruth and Yoshi. A to Zen: A Book of Japanese Culture. Beyond the Easel: Decorative Paintings by Bonnard, Vuillard,Saxonville: Picture Book Studio, 1992. Denis and Roussel, 1890–1930 http://www.artic.edu/aic/exhibitions/easel/home/index.html Edo: Art in Japan 1615–1868 http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/edotpktoc.htm Japan: Images of a People http://smithsonianeducation.org/educators/index.htmlFlowering Cherry with Poem Slipsc. 1675By Tosa MitsuokiProduced by the Department of Museum EducationThe Art Institute of ChicagoRobert W. Eskridge, Woman’s Board Endowed Executive DirectorRita E. McCarthy, Associate Director, Student and Teacher ProgramsThe information in this packet was adapted from the Japanese Screens from the ArtInstitute of Chicago teacher packet, written by Miranda Hofelt.Text additions and classroom activities by Jocelyn G. MoraldeEdited by Jane Clarke, Rita E. McCarthy, and Stephen L. Little© The Art Institute of Chicago
