Early 20th Century Japanese Scroll of Cold Mountain and Pickup

Description

Japanese scroll of Cold Mountain and Pickup, finely painted, colored inks on silk, mounted on a shimmering, light and dark … more Japanese scroll of Cold Mountain and Pickup, finely painted, colored inks on silk, mounted on a shimmering, light and dark green, silk brocade nakamawashi in a floral medallions pattern, with a lime green, raw silk, ten and ji, and a gold and ecru, silk brocade ichimonji in a floral pattern with matching futai. The makio and kakeo at the top are black and white, braided silk cord, rosewood jikusaki are at the bottom. Image size is 13.875" wide x 45.75" high. Circa early 20th century.

Signed by the artist at the bottom, "Shinso" with two red seal marks.

Kanzan and Jittoku pause on a mountain path, under an overhanging cliff with gnarled pine branches, both reading a blank scroll, indicating that written or printed sutras are nothing compared to the book of nature.

Kanzan and Jittoku ("Cold Mountain" and "Pickup") are popular figures in Zen painting who have been depicted many times as a pair, and the duo is a motif in Zen painting and representative of deeper meanings in Zen Buddhism as a whole. Kanzan (Chinese Hanshan), whose name means "Cold Mountain," is an eccentric Zen poet from the Tang Dynasty (618–907) who lived on Tiantang Mountain in Zhejiang Province, writing zen poems on cave walls. Jittoku (Chinese Shide), whose name means "foundling" or "pickup," was a kitchen worker at the nearby Guoqing Temple. The two formed a close friendship, with Jittoku stealing scraps from the kitchen to bring to Kanzan, and the pair spending time in nature, amid mountain caves, away from societal structure and institutions and sharing a nonsensical language, which some took as a sign of them being enlightened. Kanzan is identified by the scroll he holds in his hand, alluding to his work as a poet. Jittoku is identified by the broom he holds, which references his work as a kitchen cleaner at the monastery.

ref. The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain, Bill Porter (Red Pine), trans., Copper Canyon Press less