Minneapolis Institute of Art

Cranes and Waves [right of a pair]

Soga Shōhaku

Date

1760s

Medium

Six-panel folding screen, one of a pair, ink on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Cranes, waves, and pines signify long life and evoke the realm of the immortals, the Daoist paradise Mount Hōrai (Penglai). Cranes also denote happiness and marital fidelity. Shōhaku was celebrated for the eccentricity of both his lifestyle and painting style. Little is known about his life, but it seems that he was born into a merchant family in Kyoto and received some instruction in Kanō school painting. Taking up the life of an itinerant painter, he created many of his unorthodox works of art for temples, where he lodged while travelling the country. (2013.30.14.1-.2) Japan, Asia

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