Poems with floral decoration

Object Details

• Artist

  Kojima Soshin (1580-ca. 1656)

• Label

  On paper decorated with detailed paintings of fields of flowers seen through bands of golden mist are selected Japanese poems, many of them originally composed for poetry competitions. The calligraphy of Kojima Shoshin, a disciple of Koetsu, is written in a style that reflects his master's manner of writing Japanese poems in relatively large scale cursive hiragana combined with Chinese characters selected for emphasis. His technique exaggerates the turns of the brush and the transitions between thin and thick strokes. Accents of dark ink appear more regularly than in Koetsu's work, reducing the tonal variety of the writing. Relatively little is known about Soshin's life but, like his teacher, he seems to have had close contacts among the skilled craftsmen of Kyoto.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Moonlight and Clouds: Silver and Gold in the Arts of Japan (November 11, 2008 to November 11, 2009)

  Gold: The Asian Touch (September 10, 2005 to February 20, 2006)

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

  From Concept to Context: Approaches to Asian and Islamic Calligraphy (July 28, 1986 to February 6, 1987)

  Japanese Calligraphy (December 21, 1984 to November 7, 1985)

  Japanese Calligraphy (April 18, 1977 to September 13, 1977)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Calligraphy

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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  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

  Kojima, Soshin

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Cursive script, Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Poetry, Flowers

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)