Minneapolis Institute of Art

Kite and two crows

Yosa Buson

Date

c. 1766–70

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A pair of crows huddle against a downpour of rain, suggested by diagonal bands of ink wash and downturned leaves. Farther up on the same branch, a kite (a type of bird of prey) appears unperturbed by the stormy weather. The pairing of a kite and crows appears with some frequency in paintings by Yosa Buson, as it does in a type of poetry known as haikai (the poetic form from which modern-day haiku evolved). Buson was a master of both mediums, and it is possible that the subject of his painting was drawn from a poem. Japan, Asia

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