Scenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Scenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Unkoku Tōeki

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This pair of screens, invoking the Chinese landscape around the Xiao and Xiang Rivers and the traditional couplets associated with its representation, was painted by the second son of Unkoku Tōgan (1547–1618), heir to the artistic legacy and patrons of Sesshû Tōyō (1420–?1506) in western Japan. Regional schools like the Unkoku workshop were patronized by powerful local daimyo—in this instance, the Mōri in Suō and Hagi—who brought Kyoto-trained artists to their strongholds in the provinces to underscore their cultural and military authority. The Unkoku style was characterized by a strong, tensile ink line, a composition based on a balance of wash and large unpainted areas, and a shallow spatial representation.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversScenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversScenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversScenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang RiversScenes from the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.