澱川邂逅之図 (Yodogawa kaikō no zu)|Unexpected Meeting on the Yodo River
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
Image: 50 1/8 × 10 11/16 in. (127.3 × 27.2 cm) Overall with mounting: 68 × 15 3/4 in. (172.7 × 40 cm) Overall with knobs: 68 × 17 3/4 in. (172.7 × 45.1 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2021
Accession Number
2021.398.21
Art Historical Context
This evocative hanging scroll, created in 1823 during Japan’s Edo period, captures a moment of chance encounter along the Yodo. Painted in ink on paper by Tanomura Chikuden in collaboration with the scholar Rai San’yō, the work reflects the refined literati traditions that flourished among educated circles of the time. The compact vertical format, typical of hanging scrolls, encourages intimate viewing, inviting the audience to appreciate both the fluid brushwork and the poetic resonance of the title. As a product of the late Edo era, the painting embodies the period’s blend of scholarly exch...
About the Artist
Tanomura Chikuden 田能村竹田|Rai San’yō 頼山陽 (Japanese) · 1777 –1835
Japanese, 1777–1835