{"product_id":"tanzaku-e-of-wild-orchid-c-1950-1970s-copy","title":"Tanzaku-e of Hotaru 'Firefly', c. 1950-1970s","description":"\u003ch3 data-start=\"278\" data-end=\"294\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"282\" data-end=\"294\"\u003eThe Item\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"977\"\u003eA suite of sixteen \u003cem data-start=\"314\" data-end=\"325\"\u003etanzaku-e\u003c\/em\u003e (短冊絵) — hand-painted poem and illustration cards executed in ink and mineral pigment on handmade \u003cem data-start=\"406\" data-end=\"413\"\u003ewashi\u003c\/em\u003e paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"977\"\u003eEach piece measures approximately 6–7 × 36 cm and depicts motifs drawn from classical \u003cem data-start=\"507\" data-end=\"517\"\u003ekacho-ga\u003c\/em\u003e (flowers and birds) and \u003cem data-start=\"542\" data-end=\"552\"\u003ebunjinga\u003c\/em\u003e (literati) painting: plum blossoms, bamboo, orchids, pine, rice stalks, and seasonal wildflowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"977\"\u003eThis particular piece depicts a firefly (蛍 \u003cem\u003ehotaru\u003c\/em\u003e) among cascading foliage, most likely pampas grass or willow leaves. It is rendered in soft, gauzy style, completing the classical early summer-night scene. This particular piece is likely an homage to Yosa Buson's \u003cem\u003ehaiga\u003c\/em\u003e style of art, developed during the Edo period. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eFireflies (\u003cem data-start=\"2644\" data-end=\"2652\"\u003ehotaru\u003c\/em\u003e) occupy a central place in Japanese poetry and ink painting. In \u003cem data-start=\"2717\" data-end=\"2724\"\u003ehaiga\u003c\/em\u003e, they were often reduced to their essence: a mere flicker of light and color, a breath across paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"977\"\u003eCollected in Kyoto, these \u003cem data-start=\"679\" data-end=\"688\"\u003etanzaku\u003c\/em\u003e traditionally bear red seals (\u003cem data-start=\"705\" data-end=\"712\"\u003ehanko\u003c\/em\u003e) and signatures (\u003cem data-start=\"730\" data-end=\"734\"\u003egō\u003c\/em\u003e) in both kanji and kana, each identifying the pseudonym of a different artist.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"977\"\u003eThis piece is unsigned, meaning it is likely a student's work.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"295\" data-end=\"977\"\u003eThe delicate brushwork and variation in tone suggest a mix of professional and semi-professional \u003cem data-start=\"894\" data-end=\"903\"\u003enihonga\u003c\/em\u003e painters working in Kyoto during the mid-to-late Shōwa period (1950s–1980s). This piece is most likely from the 1960s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-start=\"984\" data-end=\"1002\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"988\" data-end=\"1002\"\u003eThe Artist\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1003\" data-end=\"1647\"\u003eEach artist signs their \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"314\" data-end=\"325\"\u003etanzaku-e \u003c\/em\u003eunder a poetic \u003cem data-start=\"1036\" data-end=\"1040\"\u003egō\u003c\/em\u003e — a pseudonym derived from classical Chinese and Japanese literati custom.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1003\" data-end=\"1647\"\u003eNames such as \u003cstrong data-start=\"1130\" data-end=\"1143\"\u003eSetsugaku\u003c\/strong\u003e (“Snow Peak”), \u003cstrong data-start=\"1159\" data-end=\"1171\"\u003eGyokusen\u003c\/strong\u003e (“Jade Spring”), \u003cstrong data-start=\"1189\" data-end=\"1198\"\u003eHanpō\u003c\/strong\u003e (“Half Peak”), and \u003cstrong data-start=\"1218\" data-end=\"1227\"\u003eShōan\u003c\/strong\u003e (“Pine Hermitage”) evoke nature, solitude, and the pursuit of inner cultivation through art.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1003\" data-end=\"1647\"\u003eWhile individual biographical records are rare, the coherence of brush style and paper stock suggests these painters belonged to a Kyoto \u003cem data-start=\"1460\" data-end=\"1469\"\u003etanzaku\u003c\/em\u003e workshop, calligraphy circle, or small art-supply gallery network (such as Unsōdō or Rakusensha), where \u003cem data-start=\"1574\" data-end=\"1585\"\u003etanzaku-e\u003c\/em\u003e were sold for tea gatherings, gifts, and seasonal decoration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-start=\"1654\" data-end=\"1675\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1658\" data-end=\"1675\"\u003eThe Tradition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"2303\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"1687\"\u003eTanzaku-e\u003c\/em\u003e originated in Edo as vertical poem cards used for inscribing waka or haiku. From the Edo period onward, they became a favored format for \u003cem data-start=\"1818\" data-end=\"1825\"\u003ehaiga\u003c\/em\u003e (haiku-painting) and small \u003cem data-start=\"1853\" data-end=\"1863\"\u003ekacho-ga\u003c\/em\u003e compositions, and prized for their intimacy and economy of brush.\u003cbr data-start=\"1925\" data-end=\"1928\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"2303\"\u003eIn the twentieth century, Kyoto’s \u003cem data-start=\"1962\" data-end=\"1971\"\u003enihonga\u003c\/em\u003e painters revived the form, marrying literati brushwork with a modern sensibility that was concise, contemplative, and suited to the domestic scale of Japanese interiors. These \u003cem data-start=\"2139\" data-end=\"2148\"\u003etanzaku\u003c\/em\u003e stand within that lineage, preserving the formal restraint and spontaneity of the \u003cem data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2242\"\u003ebunjin\u003c\/em\u003e tradition while adapting it to a postwar decorative context.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 data-start=\"2310\" data-end=\"2329\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"2314\" data-end=\"2329\"\u003eThe Culture\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2330\" data-end=\"2931\"\u003eEach painting embodies a distinctly Japanese aesthetic of \u003cem data-start=\"2388\" data-end=\"2397\"\u003eshibumi\u003c\/em\u003e (quiet refinement) and \u003cem data-start=\"2421\" data-end=\"2436\"\u003emono no aware\u003c\/em\u003e (the pathos of transience). The subjects—bamboo bending in wind, a single blossom on bare branch, the poised arc of a rice stalk—reflect not spectacle but the beauty of restraint.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2330\" data-end=\"2931\"\u003eIn Kyoto, such works were exchanged among friends, poets, and tea practitioners as expressions of season, mood, or gratitude.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2330\" data-end=\"2931\"\u003eTo a contemporary viewer, they offer a window into Kyoto’s living craft culture, one where the line between art and utility, practice, and philosophy, is gracefully porous.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Another Country","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47727303262459,"sku":null,"price":500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0747\/2064\/1275\/files\/WallHanging-4.jpg?v=1764092985","url":"https:\/\/inanothercountry.co\/products\/tanzaku-e-of-wild-orchid-c-1950-1970s-copy","provider":"Another Country","version":"1.0","type":"link"}