hanging scroll;
painting;
mitate-e
- Museum number
- 1913,0501,0.289
- Description
-
Painting, hanging scroll. Parody of Cho Ryo and Ko Sekiko: youth crossing bridge carrying umbrella dropped black lacquer clog; young woman kneeling on back of river dragon returning to him; branch of auspicious red plum blossoms in background. Ink and colour on paper.
- Production date
- 1768-1777
- Dimensions
-
Height: 98 centimetres
-
Width: 27 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Clark 1992
After his failed attempt to assassinate the first Qin-dynasty emperor (Qin Shi Huangdi) in 218 BC, the warrior Zhang Liang (Japanese: Cho Ryo) went into hiding in Xiapei in Jiangsu Province. There he was sought out by the sage Huangshi Gong (Japanese: Ko Sekiko) to lead a further campaign against the Qin tyrant. The meeting of the two became immortalised in legend. Huangshi Gong, travelling incognito as an old man on horseback, contrived to test Zhang Liang's character by dropping his shoe into the water as he crossed a small bridge. Zhang returned the shoe with such perfect courtesy that Huangshi Gong presented him with a precious handscroll of secret military strategies. In Japan the story of Cho Ryo and Ko Sekiko became widely known on all cultural levels, forming the basis of the No play 'Cho Ryo', as well as later, more popular theatrical versions in which Cho Ryo has first to subdue a dragon living in the river.
In this humorous 'mitate' version a youth crossing the bridge carrying an umbrella has dropped a black lacquer clog, which the young woman kneeling on the back of the river dragon returns to him with an amorous gaze. Behind the pair blossoms a branch of auspicious red plum. The dragon, drawn in Kano style, lurks amid broiling waves topped with spattered black and white pigment, while the figures, in contrast, are elegantly demure. Though unsigned, the figure style is highly reminiscent of Harunobu's latest works, and the painting may be attributed to a pupil such as Tanaka Masunobu, working shortly after Harunobu's death.
-
Asahi 1996
紀元前218年、秦の始皇帝を暗殺する試みが失敗に終わり、武将張良は下邳に身を隠した。彼は賢者黄石公によって見つけ出され、秦との戦に連れ出される。ここでの二人の出会いは後々まで伝説として語り継がれた。黄石公は老いた旅人の姿で馬に乗り、橋を渡る際に自分の履物を水中に落として、張良の器量を試そうとした。張良は礼を尽くして履物を渡したので、黄石公は秘伝の兵法書を与えた。日本では張良と黄石公の話は知識層に広く知られており、能の「張良」を生み出し、後にはより一般的な歌舞伎芝居として、張良が川の龍を鎮めるという話にまで変わっていった。
この滑稽味のある見立絵では、傘をさして橋を渡る若者が黒の塗り下駄を落とし、川中の龍の背にひざまずいた若い娘が艶めかしい視線を投げながら下駄を差し出している。二人の背後には、縁起のよい紅梅が咲いている。龍は狩野派風に描かれ、墨と胡粉の飛沫で覆われた焼け付くような波間にひそみ、優美でおとなしい画風の人物像とは対照をなしている。無款であるが、人物描写は春信晩年の作風に倣っており、作者としては春信の没後も活動した田中益信が考えられよう。
（増渕鏡子（福島県立美術館））
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1913
- Acquisition notes
- The collection of Japanese and Chinese paintings belonging to Arthur Morrison was purchased by Sir William Gwynne-Evans, who presented it to the British Museum in 1913.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1913,0501,0.289
- Additional IDs
-
Asia painting number: Jap.Ptg.1404 (Japanese Painting Number)
