Page 147 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

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146 Sword mounting with hollyhock crests Kusumi Morikage (died c. 1688-1704) Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645)
Falconry Screens Hotei and Fighting Cocks
Eighteenth century
Lacquer on wood with makie, silk, Late seventeenth century Seventeenth century
leather, gold, silver, and shakudô Pair of eight-panel screens; ink and Hanging scroll; ink on paper
7
Length 105.5 (41 Va) color on paper 71 x 32.7 (28 x 12 /s)
I
Kunózan Tóshógü Shrine, Shizuoka Each 152.3 x 508.6 (60 x 200 U) Fukuoka Art Museum
Nitto Boseki Co., Ltd., Tokyo Important Art Object
• This decorated sword mounting was
commissioned by the eighth Toku- Illustrated on pages 122 -123 Illustrated on page 125
gawa shogun, Yoshimune (1684-1751), • Falconry — the sport of hunting • The legends of Hotei, one of the Edo
and later donated to the Kunózan with falcons, hawks, or eagles — was period's seven gods of good fortune,
Shrine. Fashioned from wood coated
with makie lacquer, it is decorated officially patronized by the shogunate are based on the life of a Buddhist
sage who lived in China during the
with gold motifs of three hollyhock and widely practiced by daimyo in late ninth and early tenth centuries.
the provinces. Tokugawa leyasu was
leaves (mitsu-aoi), the crest of the known as a dedicated falconer and A popular painting subject in China
Tokugawa clan. The leather hilt cover still participated in hawking expedi- and Japan, Hotei usually appears as
is also lacquered and festooned with tions into his seventies. Although the a mirthful monk with a huge stomach
decorative fittings of precious metals.
shogunate had established an official and a cloth sack (the literal meaning
Yoshimune, generally considered one post of Master Falconer, an official of his name) containing all of his
of the most capable administrators prohibition against hunting was worldly possessions. Here Hotei rests
among the fifteen Tokugawa shogun, enacted in 1684 by the devout Buddhist his chin on a walking stick and peers
is perhaps best remembered for his shogun Tsunayoshi (r. 1680 -1709) — bemusedly at a cock fight. Both the
role in enacting the Kyôhô Reforms, this screen probably shortly predates subject and style of the painting
which included sumptuary laws this prohibition. Falconry enjoyed an effectively capture the dual aspect of
aimed at curbing the conspicuous resurgence in popularity in the early the artist Miyamoto Musashi's career:
consumption of wealthy merchants. eighteenth century during the rule of the battling cocks symbolize the war-
Strict limitations were also placed on Yoshimune, the "hawk shogun." rior spirit of the legendary swords-
publications critical of the govern- Falconry in Japan relied almost ex- man, while the spontaneous but ener-
ment and erotic literature deemed clusively on short-winged hawks getic brushwork reveals the aesthetic
detrimental to the social fabric; print (goshawks), which were well suited to priorities of a man trained in Zen
artists were forbidden to produce asceticism.
prints in deluxe formats. Reflecting the mountainous and densely wooded The artist's red rectangular seal in the
topography of Japan. The best were
his devotion to learning, however, imported from Korea. These screens lower left corner — with his art name
Yoshimune recommended lifting the
show falconers hunting fowl of every Niten, literally "Two Heavens" —
ban on imported books, which had variety, including pheasants, egrets, provides a colorful counterpoint to
far-reaching consequences for the ducks, heron, geese, and the most the monochrome composition. VH
development of western-influenced prized and difficult catch of all —
technology and art in Japan. He was cranes. High-ranking samurai (in
also an ardent advocate of martial formal attire) with their falconers
arts and was known to posterity as (donning hoods and gloves) are
the "hawk shogun" in recognition of accompanied by a large contingent of
his frequent indulgence with the pop- beaters, who handled the dogs and
ular samurai pastime of falconry. VH
helped flush out quarry so the flying
hawks could pursue their prey. VH