Paintings of Ike no Taiga (Ike Taiga gafu); Paintings of Yi Fujiu (I Fukyū gafu)

Nakagawa Tenju

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the preface to the first volume, Nakano Sodō mentions that the Kyoto artist Kan Dainen 韓大年 (also known as Kan Tenju) had made copies of actual paintings of the Bunjin artists Ike Taiga and Yi Fujiu (J. I Fukyū) in miniature format with the idea of creating a painting manual (e-dehon). Dainen, an expert in calligraphy and seal carving, was a patron of Taiga. I Fukyū, a Chinese merchant and amateur painter in the Literati style arrived in Nagasaki in 1720, and was admired by Taiga, Dainen and Aoki Shukuya (1737-1802). Fukyu was said to have copied the Yi Fukjiu paintings in 1767, and the Taiga ones 1768. The Bunjin painting and collector Kimura Kenkadō (1736–1802) acquired the manuscript of Dainen’s copies, and after his death it was inherited by one Nakazawa Keizan (dates unknown), who had Sodō author the Preface to the volumes.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art