Minneapolis Institute of Art

Family of Cranes

Watanabe Shōka

Date

second half 19th century

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

In addition to their role as symbols of longevity and vehicles for immortals, cranes, which mate for life, are also emblematic of familial loyalty. In this autumnal scene, a family of cranes gathers near parched reeds and reddening ivy. The painter, Watanabe Shōka, was born in Edo to the important painter and scholar Watanabe Kazan (1793–1841). After Kazan’s politically motivated suicide, the young Shōka took as his teacher his father’s leading pupil, the literati painter Tsubaki Chinzan (1801–1854), whose influence is apparent here. Japan, Asia

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