Poems and Pictures of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers
1605–12
Unkoku Tōgan
Unkoku Tōgan (Japanese, 1547–1618)
Japanese Art
Poems and Pictures of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers, 1605–12. Unkoku Tōgan (Japanese, 1547–1618), inscribed by Inkei Gentetsu (Japanese, 1562–1612). Handscroll; ink on paper; 40.3 x 657.8 cm (15 7/8 x 259 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2020.258 Works on the theme of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers existed in China as early as the late eleventh century. This Japanese treatment of the subject features poems by the Chinese monk Yujian Ruofen, who was active in the late 13th century. It also emulates Yujian’s splashed-ink mode to create highly abstracted landscapes evoking misty settings. The “Tō” of Tōgan comes from the name of painter Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506).
- Maker/Artist
- Unkoku Tōgan
- Classification
- Painting
- Formatted Medium
- Handscroll; ink on paper
- Medium
- handscroll, ink, paper
- Dimensions
- 40.3 x 657.8 cm (15 7/8 x 259 in.)
- Inscribed
- Inscription: Each painting sealed with red gourd-shaped seal reading Unkoku (雲谷) and a square seal reading Tōgan (等顔). Inscription: Each painting prefaced with a titled poem on the Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang by Yujian Ruofen (active late 13th century) inscribed by Japanese Buddhist monk Inkei Gentetsu (1562–1612). Inscription: 右寫玉㵎之筆勢／雪舟末葉等顔筆 Translation: Colophon at scroll’s end inscribed by Inkei states, “the preceding is copied in the manner of Yujian; brushed by Tōgan, the (stylistic) descendent of Sesshū.”
- Departments
- Japanese Art
- Accession Number
- 2020.258
- Credit Line
- Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
- Rights Statement
- CC0
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