Panoramic Landscape of the Yangtze River

Object Details

• Artist

  Shugetsu Tokan (died ca. 1510)

• Provenance

  ?-no later than 1968

  Hosomi Toru, (1901-1978) method of acquisition unknown [1]

  By 1968-1970

  Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, method of acquisition unknown [2]

  From 1970

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See object file for U.S. Treasure Special Customs Invoice – Bureau of Customs dated January 25, 1969, for “Antique Art Objects”, that were being shipped from Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., to the Freer Gallery of Art, including item no. 2: “Yang-Tzu River by Shugetsu Tokan

  [sic.]” This form notes that object no. 2 was “Purchased from Toru Hosomi 2-18-3 Matsunohama, Izumi-Ohtsu-City, Osaka, Japan.” This name and address are very similar to that of collector Ryō Hosomi. See object file for November 26, 1965, letter from H. P. Stern to Hosomi, where Stern uses the following address: 833 Matsunohama, Izumiotsu , Osaka-fu, Japan. Also in object file, see Freer Gallery of Art vault record showing that “Yang-tzu River by Shugetsu Tokan” was received from Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., on February 10, 1969.

  Ryō Hosomi, also known as Ryōichi Hosomi or Kokoan Hosomi, was a textiles industrialist in Japan and a collector of Asian art. He amassed a collection of more than 1,000 objects that represented nearly 10,000 years of Japanese history and culture. In 1998, the Hosomi Art Foundation opened the Hosomi Museum in Kyoto to present this collection to the public.

  [2] See object file for Junkichi Mayuyama letter to H. P. Stern, dated October 10, 1968. Mayuyama wrote, “Dr. Pope, Mr. Mikkaichi, Mr. Fujioka and I had a talk with each other at our shop this morning…Among the several objects which Dr. Pope kindly saw at our shop today;” as the following letter indicates, the Shūgetsu handscroll was among the items seen by Pope on that visit to Mayuyama’s gallery. Also in object file, see follow-up letter from J. A. Pope to Mayuyama, dated December 16, 1968, requesting that the handscroll described as “Yangt-tzu river by [S]hugetsu Tokan” be included among objects sent to the Freer for examination. Pope wrote, “I have decided I would like to give serious consideration to four of the things I saw in your shop.” Matsutarō Mayuyama (1882-1935) began Mayuyama & Co in Beijing during April 1905, where he specialized in the sale of Chinese antiquities. In 1916, Mayuyama relocated to Tokyo, Japan, opening a store in the Ginza district and later in Kyōbashi. In Japan, the store featured Japanese works of art. After Matsutarō’s

  death, his eldest son, Junkichi (1913-1999) inherited the business.

  [3] See Mayuyama & Co., Ltd. invoice to the Freer Gallery of Art, dated August 14, 1970, and approved by the Secretary of Smithsonian on March 19, 1969.

  Research updated October 13, 2023

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Mind Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan (March 5, 2022 - July 24, 2022)

  Spreading the Word (May 18 to November 12, 2018)

  Zen, Tea, and Chinese Art in Medieval Japan (December 13, 2014 to June 14, 2015)

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

  Religious Art of Japan (December 18, 2002 to January 4, 2015)

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

  Luminous Shadows (April 1, 1982 to June 21, 1982)

  A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)

  Japanese Art (July 1, 1974 to April 10, 1978)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Hosomi Ryoichi (1901-1978)

  Mayuyama & Co., Ltd. (established 1916)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s, 1560s

• Name

  Hosomi, Ryoichi, Mayuyama & Co., Ltd.

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Water, Landscapes, Art, Muromachi period (1333 - 1573), Japanese Art, Rivers

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings