Eight Views of Omi Province

Object Details

• Artist

  Kano Tan'yu 狩野探幽 (1602-1674)

• Description

  Eight Views of Omi Province. Eight inscriptions, signature and seal. Silk makimono.

• Signatures

  Kunaikyō hōin Tanyū gyōnen rokujūsai hitsu

  宮内卿法印探幽行年六十歳筆

  宮内卿法印探幽行年六十歳筆

• Marks

  Artist's seal following signature: Tanyūsai 探幽斎

• Label

  The subject of this handscroll is the Eight Views of Omi, the region around Lake Biwa near Kyoto. The landscapes are executed in a soft, evocative style that suggests rather than delineates forms. Above each scene is a Japanese poem, written in elegant cursive Japanese hiragana script following to the left of the title in Chinese characters. Tan'yu's signature at the end of the scroll gives his title as "Seal of the Law, official of the Imperial Palace." The title Hoin (Seal of the [Buddhist] Law) was an honorific ecclesiastical title awarded to painters of high standing. After early training in Kyoto, Kano Tan'yu moved to Edo and became an official painter for the Tokugawa shoguns. He established an atelier in the Kajibashi district of Edo and received many important commissions, including the decoration of Edo Castle in 1622 and Nijo Castle in Kyoto in 1626.

  In addition to mastering the Chinese painting styles that had become a specialty of the Kano school, Tan'yu became proficient in the elegant courtly style of traditional Japanese painting that was a specialty of artists of the Tosa and Sumiyoshi schools. This style was popular among Tan'yu's patrons, who predominantly belonged to high level daimyo families but consciously sought to acquire the cultivation and prestige of Kyoto court culture.

• Provenance

  To 1904

  Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921), Kidderminster, England, to 1904 [1]

  From 1904 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Michael Tomkinson in 1904 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Makimono Reserved List, R. 440, pg. 1, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Seasons: Arts of Japan (February 5, 2011 to January 13, 2013)

  Landscapes in Japanese Art (February 2 to July 15, 2007)

  Real and Imagined Places in Japanese Art (March 4 to October 21, 2001)

  Japanese Art in the Age of Koetsu (June 6, 1998 to February 15, 1999)

  Japanese Art—Autumn Voices (October 14, 1981 to December 16, 1981)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Michael Tomkinson (1841-1921) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

  This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Tomkinson, Michael

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Makimono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings