Accession Number
1969/2.89

Title
A Scholar Riding on a Sword

Artist(s)
Kanō School

Object Creation Date
circa 1650-1700

Medium & Support
ink on paper

Dimensions
13 3/4 in x 9 9/16 in (34.92 cm x 24.29 cm);22 1/4 in x 28 1/4 in (56.52 cm x 71.75 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase for the Paul Leroy Grigaut Memorial Collection

Label copy
Buddhist teachings first arrived in China in the first century ce and from that point forward developed side by side with the two main streams of indigenous philosophy, Confucianism and Daoism. Relations between adherents of these schools of thought were often hostile, but during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)—when Zen monks, Confucian scholars, and Daoist thinkers were all drawn from the educated gentry class—there was a period of warm mutual respect. Under the rubric of the “unity of the three creeds,” Daoist subjects found their way into Chinese Zen circles, whence they spread to Japan. This painting, which is no doubt based on an imported Chinese model, probably depicts Zhongli Quan (Shôriken in Japanese), one of the eight Daoist immortals. (The attributes of the eight immortals are quite fluid, which is why the identification of the figure is uncertain.) Zhongli is sometimes described as a warrior who had a magical sword that could bear him across the waters.
The painting bears a seal reading Motonobu, referring to Kanô Motonobu, one of the leading artists working in the Japanese capital city of Kyoto in the first half of the sixteenth century. The seal is obviously a later addition, but the painting may come from Motonobu’s workshop or a later follower. Motonobu was not a practitioner of Zen, but as official painter to the ruling Ashikaga warlords, he had access to the Chinese painting collections of Kyoto’s great Zen temples, an invaluable resource when he was called upon to do Zen subjects. Motonobu’s descendants continued to paint Zen themes for Japan’s military aristocrats for the next several centuries.
Arts of Zen, Spring 2003
M. Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art

Subject matter
Buddhist teachings first arrived in China in the first century ce and from that point forward developed side by side with the two main streams of indigenous philosophy, Confucianism and Daoism. Relations between adherents of these schools of thought were often hostile, but during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)—when Zen monks, Confucian scholars, and Daoist thinkers were all drawn from the educated gentry class—there was a period of warm mutual respect. Under the rubric of the “unity of the three creeds,” Daoist subjects found their way into Chinese Zen circles, whence they spread to Japan. This painting, which is no doubt based on an imported Chinese model, probably depicts Zhongli Quan (Shôriken in Japanese), one of the eight Daoist immortals. (The attributes of the eight immortals are quite fluid, which is why the identification of the figure is uncertain.) Zhongli is sometimes described as a warrior who had a magical sword that could bear him across the waters.
The painting bears a seal reading Motonobu, referring to Kanô Motonobu, one of the leading artists working in the Japanese capital city of Kyoto in the first half of the sixteenth century. The seal is obviously a later addition, but the painting may come from Motonobu’s workshop or a later follower. Motonobu was not a practitioner of Zen, but as official painter to the ruling Ashikaga warlords, he had access to the Chinese painting collections of Kyoto’s great Zen temples, an invaluable resource when he was called upon to do Zen subjects. Motonobu’s descendants continued to paint Zen themes for Japan’s military aristocrats for the next several centuries.
Arts of Zen, Spring 2003
M. Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art

Physical Description
This painting shows a scholar that is riding with his feet on a sword across waves. There is a seal on the lower right corner of the painting that reads Motonobu, referring to Kanô Motonobu.

 

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
Daoism
Figures
Taoism
mythology
mythology (literary genre)
scholars
sword
swords
water
waves
waves (natural events)