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Orchid Pavilion Gathering in Blue and Green

1844
Not on view
This colorful rendition of the fourth-century Orchid Pavilion Gathering is set not in secluded mountains but rather in an elaborately designed private garden. The participants, dressed in loose robes, drink from cups while seated comfortably along a stream. The event’s host, Wang Xizhi, is positioned in a luxurious pavilion—brush in hand, ready to compose his famous preface to the poems written by the group.

Tsubaki Kakoku and his father, Chinzan (1801–1841), were both disciples of Watanabe Kazan, a painter and scholar active in Edo in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Kakoku was only nineteen when he painted this complex composition, showcasing his prodigious young talent. He died tragically just six years later.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 椿華谷筆　青緑蘭亭脩禊図
  • Title: Orchid Pavilion Gathering in Blue and Green
  • Artist: Tsubaki Kakoku (Japanese, 1825–1850)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: 1844
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
  • Dimensions: Image: 53 13/16 in. × 26 in. (136.7 × 66 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 85 1/2 × 33 1/4 in. (217.2 × 84.5 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 85 1/2 × 35 13/16 in. (217.2 × 91 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2023
  • Object Number: 2023.583.29
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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