ARTIST : Yamamoto Shunkyo (1871-1933) studied under Kono Bairei, Nomura Bunkyo, and Mori Kansai. He was one of the founders of the modern Kyoto School and a member of the Imperial Art Committee. He is held in very high regard both within Japan and internationally. His works reside in numerous museums both domestically and abroad including the Kyoto City Art Museum, MFA Boston and the National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo. See Roberts pp.196.
AGE : early 20th century
SIZE : The scroll measures 82 by 17 inches (209 by 43 cm). The image measures 50 by 31 inches (127 by 31 cm).
DESCRIPTION : An image of hotei in the zen tradition brushed by the nihonga artist Yamamoto Shunkyo. Whilst not uncommon for painters to seek enlightenment through the study of zen and to create zen themed works (Shunkyo's colleague Tsuji Kako comes readily to mind), we are not directly aware of Shunkyo having done so. Even so it is difficult to conceive of him having painted this without such influences. It is likely that this Hotei is, rather than the happy go lucky god of contentment whose bag of giving never empties, carrying an 'empty bag' in the zen tradition. This 'empty bag' is comparable to the blank handscroll that Kanzan & Jittoku are rarely seen without.
TECHNIQUE : ink on paper
CONDITION : The painting is in good condition. Very light foxing is visible. It is contained within a double wooden storage box which is annotated and sealed by one of Shunkyo's better students, Kawamura Manshu (1880-1942). See Roberts pp.73.
