March, 1919 
39 
These two kakemono studies of monkeys by Mori 
Sosen show both the realism and humor of that 
Japanese artist. Sosen lived until 1821 
It is one of the 
prime glories of Japa¬ 
nese artists, that, em¬ 
ploying this mode 
which in endless 
hands would have 
yielded only the 
grandiloquent, they 
almost invariably 
achieved instead the 
grand, flowers being "Boats on the Sumida,” 
the theme with which done on silk by Moronobu 
they were most suc¬ 
cessful on the glowing 
repoussoir. A glance at some of them will repay. 
A prince among men thus engaged was 
Yusho, who had worked along with Sanraku 
in Yeitoku’s studio; while the early years of 
the 17 th century witnessed the painting of sin¬ 
gularly delicate landscapes by Kano Koi, 
whose pupils included Tanyu, famous alike as 
animal-painter, landscapist, and poet. He is 
one of the comparatively few great Japanese 
masters of whom there is an authentic portrait, 
this work being in the Imperial University, 
Tokio; and showing an anxious, nervous, emo¬ 
tional person, it hints too at an exceptionally 
lovable disposition. 
Sesshiu thought to improve his skill by going 
to China, and, in many Japanese artists sub¬ 
sequent to his time, there is seen still that old 
tendency to look admiringly to the Middle 
Kingdom as a guide in technique, Tanyu 
being however virtually the last Japanese 
of true might inclining thus. Just after 
A portrait of Mukashi No Tenno, 
.painted on sUk by an unknown artist 
But by far the great¬ 
est Japanese painter 
of the mid-1600’s was 
Matahei, keenly alive 
to the charm of his 
country’s characteris¬ 
tic domestic utensils, 
and drawing these 
things with a loving 
precision, often, in his 
studies of ordinary 
people, merely eating 
"Kwannon,” by Mokkei, drinking, reading, 
at Daitokuji near Kyoto writing or playing 
games in their homes. 
None of his compa¬ 
triots, before him, had made an art comparable 
with his from matter of this sort. And it can 
hardly be doubted that, in showing thus how 
lofty a beauty might be evolved from humble 
domesticities, he was a vast incentive to the 
far-famed woodcut men, who, starting work 
very soon after his time, called their prints 
“Pictures of the floating world”, that is, the 
scenes of the passing hour. Their style of 
workmanship, in many cases, is literally an 
echo of his, Matahei’s screens always reflecting, 
nevertheless, a fine deliberateness, largely for¬ 
eign to his imitators. 
Of the painters studying with him, much the 
best was Moronobu, who had begun life as a 
designer in an embroidery shop, and with 
whom a favorite topic was the Sumida 
river, with its motley pageant of boats; 
{Continued on page 66) 
A portrait of the poet Ariwara No Nari- 
hara, by Iwasa Matahei 
these kinds being a 
hard paper, which 
lent itself to minute 
draughtsmanship. 
And since many of 
the new art-patrons, 
in eagerness to flaunt 
their wealth, desired 
houses characterized 
by gorgeousness, it be¬ 
came customary to 
paint the backgrounds 
of the screens com¬ 
pletely with gold. 
his day, there was a 
marked increase in the 
output of historical 
pictures, a brilliant 
adept in such being 
Mitsuki, who, in the 
ardour of his admira¬ 
tion for his remote 
predecessor, Tosa 
Mitsunobu, claimed 
to be that master’s 
lineal descendant. 
