Plum Blossoms at Tsukigase

Description

Copies and Invention in East Asia (August 17, 2019 - January 5, 2020)
The interpretation of the Japanese landscape through the lens of the Chinese literati tradition became more common in Japanese literati painting of the nineteenth century. Japanese literati adopted a love of plum trees from Chinese literati, and found this enchanting location in their vicinity. While plum trees had long been cultivated for dyes and medicinal use in the village of Tsukigase, which is tucked into a deep valley northeast of Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, springtime excursions to the village became a favorite pastime for Japanese literati living in the nearby Kyoto area after the scholar Saitō Setsudō (1797–1865) published a collection of poems on it in the mid-nineteenth century. As they bloom very early in spring, plums symbolize endurance, and scholars admired their understated beauty, in contrast to the more exuberant cherry. While the subject of the painting is influenced by the Chinese tradition, the artist’s use of opaque colors and the decorative repetition of dotted patterns are distinctively Japanese.

The village of Tsukigase is tucked into a deep valley northeast of Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. There, plum trees had long been cultivated for dyes and medicinal use. After the scholar Saitô Setsudô (1797–1865) published a collection of poems on Tsukigase in the mid-nineteenth century, however, springtime excursions to the village became a favorite pastime for Japanese literati. Scholars admired the plum blossom for its understated beauty, in contrast to the more exuberant cherry.
The artist, Nakabayashi Chikkei, was the elder son of the renowned literati painter Nakabayashi Chikutô, whose work is also in the UMMA collection. Like his father, Chikkei achieved widespread fame. The spiky, upward-reaching branches and pink and white blossoms in this painting create a festive mood appropriate for spring.
Maribeth Graybill
“Four Seasons In Japanese Art”: Special Installation of Japanese Gallery at UMMA: Object Labels
July 5, 2003-January 4, 2004
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The village of Tsukigase is tucked into a deep valley northeast of Nara, the ancient capital of Japan. There, plum trees had long been cultivated for dyes and medicinal use. After the scholar Saitô Setsudô (1797–1865) published a collection of poems on Tsukigase in the mid-nineteenth century, however, springtime excursions to the village became a favorite pastime for Japanese scholars and literati painters. They admired the plum blossom for its understated beauty, in contrast to the more exuberant cherry.
The artist, Nakabayashi Chikkei, was the elder son of the renowned literati painter Nakabayashi Chikutô, whose work is also in the UMMA collections. Like his father, Chikkei achieved widespread fame. The spiky, upward-reaching branches and pink and white blossoms in this painting create a festive mood appropriate for spring.
(6/28/10)
(Japanese Gallery Rotation, Spring 2010)