Two Poems from the Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems (Kokin wakashū)

Most nanga painters were not true bunjin (literati) in that they had to sell their work to support themselves, but as scholar-artists they were given bunjin status in intellectual circles. Curiously, two of the most prominent masters of nanga, Ike Taiga (1723–1776) and Buson (cat. nos. 155, 156), failed to fit even this adjusted definition of the term. Although both were well educated, they lacked formal instruction in Chinese literature and, as professional artists, they supported themselves solely through painting. Taiga was extremely prolific; more than one thousand of his works are believed to be extant.[1] Much of his oeuvre, including the folding screens in the Burke Collection (cat. no. 159), is Chinese derived, both in subject matter and style, but he also produced paintings on indigenous themes, using brushwork and compositions not generally associated with nanga. These works show both the influence of Japanese traditions celebrated by such schools as Rinpa and a knowledge of linear perspective and chiaroscuro, techniques developed in the West.

Taiga attained fame quite early in life. The standard accounts cite Kyoto as his birthplace. The family name was Ikeno, but Taiga later dropped the character "no" to make it sound more Chinese, following a trend among nanga artists. His father is said to have worked for Nakamura Kuranosuke, an official of the Ginza (the government mint) and a patron of Ogata Kōrin (cat. nos. 132, 133). However, because two officials with the name Nakamura worked at the Ginza at that time, it is impossible to identify Ikeno senior's employer with certainty.[2] Taiga's formal training in calligraphy began when he was about seven, under the tutelage of the monk Seikōin Issei (1672–1740 ).

Taiga began working as a professional painter by the age of fifteen, when he opened a fan shop in Kyoto to support his widowed mother. His earliest extant painting, Willows at Weicheng, painted when he was twenty-two, is already in the nanga mode. Taiga may have acquired his knowledge of nanga from the Hasshu gafu (The Eight Albums of Painting), a collection of Chinese woodcuts that was printed in Japan in 1671. While still in his teens, he became a close friend of Kō Fuyō (1722–1784), an artist of wide interests and learning who was an exemplar for many nanga artists. He also attracted the attention of Yanagisawa Kien (1706–1758), a leader of the early nanga movement, who encouraged Taiga and wrote inscriptions on his compositions.

Poets and scholars gravitated toward Taiga. Among the many artists who were inspired or influenced by him was his wife, Tokuyama Gyokuran (cat. no. 160), also a nanga painter. He was a frequent traveler, and his oeuvre includes a number of paintings that document his journeys.

This piece of calligraphy, signed "Shisei jūissai" (Shisei at the age of eleven), is the second earliest known example of Taiga's work.[3] It is composed of two poems taken from the tenth-century Kokinshū (A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern). The first, number 24 in the anthology, is by Minamoto Muneyuki (d. 939):

Tokiwa naru matsu no
midori mo
haru kureba
ima hitoshio no iro masarikeri

Now that spring has come
even the unchanging pine
is dressed in
fresh new foliage that is
dyed a brighter shade of green.

The second poem, number 53, is by Ariwara no Narihira (825–880):

Yo no naka ni taete
sakura no nakariseba
haru no kokoro wa
nodoke karamashi

If this world had never
known the ephemeral charms
of cherry blossoms
our hearts in spring might match
nature's deep tranquillity.

The second syllable of "Shisei," Taiga's signature on this scroll, is taken from the name of his calligraphy teacher, Issei; "Shisei" means "a child's well," while "Issei" means "a well." Rather than use a carved seal, Taiga wrote the difficult seal characters by hand on this work, demonstrating his precocious ability. For the calligraphy itself, he was probably following a model provided by Issei. Instead of using the standard kana script, Taiga wrote in man'yōgana, which uses mostly Chinese characters. While Taiga's calligraphy is hesitant and accurate, in the manner of a boy attempting to copy his model to perfection, his skill nevertheless remains impressive.

[Miyeko Murase 2000, Bridge of Dreams]

[1] Suzuki Susumu and Sasaki Jōhei 1979, p. 98.
[2] Yoshizawa Chū 1959, p. 360.
[3] One example of his writing believed to have been executed when he was only two years old is in the Ike Taiga Museum of Art, Kyoto; see Matsushita Hidemaro

Signature: Shisei juissai

Marking: Seal: Ikeno Shisei

Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation , New York (until 2015; donated to MMA)

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," November 7, 1975–January 4, 1976.

Seattle Art Museum. "Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," March 10–May 1, 1977.

Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "Japanese Art: Selections from the Mary and Jackson Burke Collection," June 1–July 17, 1977.

New York. Japan Society Gallery. "Japanese Calligraphy from Western Collections," October 4, 1984–January 6, 1985.

Kansas City. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. "Japanese Calligraphy from Western Collections," February 15, 1985–March 31, 1985.

Seattle Art Museum. "Japanese Calligraphy from Western Collections," May 9, 1985–July 14, 1985.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Japanese Art from The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," March 30–June 25, 2000.

Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Masters of the Brush: Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran," April 28, 2007–July 22, 2007.

Murase, Miyeko, Il Kim, Shi-yee Liu, Gratia Williams Nakahashi, Stephanie Wada, Soyoung Lee, and David Sensabaugh. Art Through a Lifetime: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection. Vol. 1, Japanese Paintings, Printed Works, Calligraphy. [New York]: Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, [2013], p. 423, cat. no. 532.