Kano School 狩野派
Roosters and Chicken in a Bamboo Grove
Item number: T-2128LSize: H 64.8" x W 133.5" (164.5 x 339 cm)
Age: 17th C
Pair of six-panel folding screens
Ink, colors, gofun, gold and gold leaf on paper
From the fourth century onwards, the Chinese depicted sages in bamboo groves, in seclusion from the world and in lofty conversation with each other.1 This tradition later transferred to Korea and Japan, where the theme, Chikurin no shichiken 竹林の七賢, became one of the traditional expressions of painters, for example of the Kano school, who painted it widely on scrolls, screens and sliding doors.2
In this painting we see the same theme of a gathering in a bamboo grove, yet here we have a play on the genre, with roosters and hens taking the place of learned sages. And instead of lofty conversation, we have hens clucking to one another and to their offspring. While the parody of traditional themes was not unusual—painters such as Harunobu placed courtesans in place of the sages in their versions of the bamboo grove—the depiction of chickens as sages is rare.
The paintings also have a seasonal element, as the artist has divided the screen pair into images of spring and autumn. The right half shows the spring with newborn chicks, new bamboo sprouts and flowering Chinese clematis (Tessen 鉄銑, Clematis florida), a plant blooming in late April. In contrast, the left half shows the autumn with the chicks fully grown, the bamboo mature and, instead of clematis, ivy with autumn colors. The artist contrasts spring and fall, the newborn and the adult, beginnings and maturity.
The screens have an intricate and finely crafted band along the top with gilt moriage patterns. This moriage was built up with layers of gofun (sea shell powder) and then painted with gold wash, a phenomenon appearing in 17th century screens.3
The moriage consists of round family crests (mon) on a diamond pattern. Interestingly, the gilt and chased copper hardware on the screen frame incorporates the same family crest design and can therefore assumed to be the original 17th century hardware. Further use of moriage relief can be seen in the three-dimensional modeling on the cockscombs and on the legs. The overall effect is that of luxury, privilege and expense, an effect underlined by the heavy use of costly mineral colors. The screens were most likely created for the year of the rooster by a leading sponsor of the arts, possibly by a member of the aristocracy or a daimyo warlord.
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