Cleveland Museum of Art

Sparrows and Bamboo

Shiken Saidō

Date

mid- to late 1500s

Medium

hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan, Muromachi period (1392–1573)

Department

Japanese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Shiken Saidō, whose style name was Ze'an, was a Zen monk who trained at Shōkokuji temple in Kyoto, and designed the garden of Reiun’in at Myōshinji temple. He painted landscapes in the style of painter and art advisor to the shogun, Sōami (died 1525), as well as bird-and-flower compositions. A poetic inscription by the monk Ekkei Reikaku accompanies this gentle composition of two sparrows perched on bamboo.

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