Page 344 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

195
Itô Jakuchû (1716 -1800)
Rooster, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemums
in Snow
1740-1750
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
3
114.2 x 61.9 (45 x 24 /s)
The Hosomi Art Foundation, Osaka

• Chickens were one of Itô Jakuchü's
favorite subjects. Here a lone rooster
leans forward as if to peck for insects
through the heavy mantle of snow 343
that covers the ground. The chrysan-
themums and bamboo that frame the
rooster are coated with wet snow, the
weight of which bends and twists the
bamboo stalks, making a confusing
tangle. Snow-covered blades of grass
and occasional breaks in the snow
add to the frostbound atmosphere. As
in many of his paintings, Jakuchu
takes the ordinary and transforms it
into an unexpected vision.

This image might be interpreted
metaphorically, with the rooster being
a symbol of the Five Virtues according
to Chinese lore. The rooster would
stand for the superior man—accom-
plished in literature, possessing
virtue, courage, a martial spirit, and
loyalty—who is able to survive the
cold winters of life. Because chrysan-
themum and bamboo also symbolize
the virtuous gentleman, their inclu-
sion in the painting could not have
been merely arbitrary.
Jakuchu inherited a successful green-
grocery in Kyoto, and his painstak-
ingly detailed paintings of fowl and
other subjects reflect this immediate
195 environment. They also suggest influ-
ences from European optics available
through the Dutch trade and indi-
rectly through commerce with China,
as well as the paintings of the Chinese
emigré Shen Nan'pin and the Naga-
saki school. MM