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Ikiyasan Isakiji

Nukina Sūō

1833

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art

Romanticism Early 19th Century

Dominant colour

Ikiyasan Isakiji is a 1833 by Nukina Sūō, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.

Who painted this?: Nukina Sūō
When & what style?: 1833 · Romanticism
Where can I see it?: Cleveland Museum of Art

About this work

You see a quiet temple on the shore, drawn in black ink on paper. The artist wrote a poem right on the painting about seeing this place from a boat. He was a samurai who became famous for his handwriting, not just his brushwork. The temple still stands today by Lake Biwa. Look up *Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)* to see more scenes like this.

The story of this work

Overview

The Buddhist temple Ikiyasan Isakiji lies about 12.4 miles (20 km) from Hikone Castle, on the shore of Lake Biwa in central Japan. Nukina Kaioku depicted the temple as seen from a boat while touring Hikone. He also inscribed a poem about the experience, explaining that it was one of three written during the journey. Born into a samurai family specializing in archery, Kaioku later became recognized as one of the three greatest calligraphers of his time.

Did you know?

Nukina Kaioku was from a family that taught archery to regional military rulers, but being physically weak, he concentrated his efforts in calligraphy and studying Confucian philosophy, a system of thought prized by the military class.

Read the full account in the museum source.

About the artist

Artist

Nukina Sūō

Nukina Kaioku (貫名海屋; 1778–1863) was a Japanese painter and calligrapher. He had many pseudonyms, but Kaioku (海屋) and Sūō (菘翁) are the most well-known. He was considered a leader in the field of Japanese calligraphy…

See the richer artist page