Flowers & Plants
 These scrolls show the Japanese and Chinese artists immense skill with painting of flowers and will give a light feeling to a room. In some cases the flowers will represent Spring or  Summer but rarely will you use a flower scroll in the winter unless you want to remind yourself of warmer days. In that case a riot of flowers will be the very thing to cheer your winter blues away.

The magnificent antique hand painted works of art show the Japanese style of painting at its very best. Some of these scrolls are very old and I have spent many years researching and locating the very best in genuine Antique Scrolls. In a few cases I have had scroll mounts restored  on the scrolls where these have deteriorated, However the restoration has been done by professional Scroll restorers and the original paintings have not been altered in any way

Flowers, Flowers Mixed, Orchids, Iris, Chrysanthemums, Ume-Apricot, Sakura-Cherry

Rhododendron

 

 

 


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Azalea Tsutsuji A lovely painting of an Azalea flower in late Spring against the corner of a wall. The Lace Bug is beautifully painted as well. This is being mounted onto a new scroll in shades of pale to mid green. Comes with a new Antique silk covered box £180

 

 

Autumn Fruits 'Sow well and you will eat well. Recently restored and remounted with new silks and box.

£175 including the beautiful Antique Silk covered Box

 
 
 

Ume -Apricot branch in Vase with Garlic, quince and fungi. This is an  Ikebana display with a difference.

Title and inscription: May all things go your way. Painted in early autumn of 1937. 
Artist:  Taigen Koji ( signature: depending on the reading can be Nobuyoshi, Nobutada,
or other series of name combinations including one of his pen names, Etsuji) Box says painted by Etsuji Sanjin himself

 

The painting comes with the original artists box.

51.3cm x177.5cm  20.1x 69.8 inches

£195

Blue Tit and Peony. Fully restored with new silk mounts,.

Kobayashi Ritsudo (1903-1974)Original name: 小林 立堂 -  小林 良曹, ｺﾊﾞﾔｼﾘｮｳｿｳ
He was born in Tokyo and learned under Kawasaki Shoko. A very competent painter with an eye for a very delicate image

Kawasaki Shoko (1886-1977) was a Nihonga painter from Gifu, who learned Yamatoe and fed it back to his paintings in his initial career, but gradually began to seek for his original style, like taking in a subject specific to oil painting. His teac hing of Kobayashi illustrates this as the style of his students work is almost like an oil painting.

£210 Including a specially made antique kimono silk covered box.

 

Before restoration                                            After

 
   

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 Kusamono Scroll 46x22 A very rare scroll with a Waka Poem. Used for display with a Bonsai
£165 includes box

Kusamono (literally "grass thing") and shitakusa (literally "undergrass") are a potted collection of plants designed to either be viewed in accompaniment with a bonsai or alone. Normally the term kusamono is used when the planting is displayed as the centre of attention, while the term shitakusa is used for plantings that accompany bonsai displays. In contrast to under plantings (which are potted in with the bonsai), kusamono and shitakusa are displayed separately in special pots, driftwood, or even stones.

Plants used are typically moss, grass, lichen, small flowers, bamboo, or bulbs, that may heighten the beauty or reflect a certain season. While traditionally in Japan, plants gathered from mountains contributed to the bulk of companion plantings, modern use has extended to more creative and artistic design.

Waka (和歌 literally "Japanese poem") or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from kanshi (poetry written in Chinese by Japanese poets), and later from renga.

The term waka originally encompassed a number of differing forms, principally tanka (短歌, "short poem") and chōka (長歌, "long poem"), but also including bussokusekika, sedōka (旋頭歌, "whirling head poem") and katauta (片歌, "poem fragment"). These last three forms, however, fell into disuse at the beginning of the Heian period, and chōka vanished soon afterwards. Thus, the term waka came in time to refer only to tank

 

We know a bit about this scroll . It was painted in the 19th century  by Lord Shimano. a Samurai warlord in Shimano prefecture. The very elegant Lotus shape pot holds an Ikebana arrangement of various plants. We worked a long time to match this scroll with new silks and then a perfect box which is embroidered antique Kimono Silk. £195


 


A short scroll for this Peony

Peony flower. This is an late 18th early 19th century painting that we have mounted onto new silk mounts. The scroll ends are hand made dense Rosewood to add weight which makes the scroll sit perfectly. The box is covered in Antique embroidered Flower Kimono Silk £160

 

Asagao To Sekirei: Morning Glory and Wagtail 72.7 x 23.7 Including the original Box by the Chinese artist. £210
 

The Morning Glory in Chinese Art, a story for lovers

The star-shaped morning glory is symbolic of a single day each year in which the Chinese lovers, Chien Niu and Chih Neu, are allowed to meet. According to Chinese lore, Chien Niu was a boy start who was entrusted to take care of water buffalo in the heavenly kingdom. A girl star named Chih Neu was put in charge of seamstress duties. They fell in love, and the romance caused them to neglect their duties. In anger, God forced the young lovers to be separated on both sides of the Silver River and allowed then to meet only once during the whole year. So having this painting represents a symbol for two people who are in love but with the reminder that they need to find time for their responsibilities to their work,  family and home.

The morning glory is aptly named, as the flower blooms in the morning and dies by the afternoon. The flowers are funnel-shaped and prefer full sun. Morning glories will grow in poor, dry soil. They are a vine flower and are highly useful for trellises where they reduce the heating and cooling costs of buildings.

Ancient and Modern Uses of Morning Glories
Morning glories are known in China for their medicinal properties. The seeds are said to have a laxative effect. Large amounts of the seeds can also be hallucinogenic.

The water morning glory, also known as water spinach or swamp cabbage, can be eaten like lettuce.

In ancient Mesopotamia, morning glory juice was used in combination with substance from the Castilla elastica tree to make a bouncing rubber ball over 3,000 years ago.

The wagtails form the passerine bird genus Motacilla. They are small birds with long tails which they wag frequently.
Motacilla, the root of the family and genus name, means moving tail
There are three species in China, Korea and Japan however generally there are two that live in China, the Japanese Wagtail Motacilla grandis and the  Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

 

Waka (和歌 literally "Japanese poem") or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from kanshi (poetry written in Chinese by Japanese poets), and later from renga.

The term waka originally encompassed a number of differing forms, principally tanka (短歌, "short poem") and chōka (長歌, "long poem"), but also including bussokusekika, sedōka (旋頭歌, "whirling head poem") and katauta (片歌, "poem fragment"). These last three forms, however, fell into disuse at the beginning of the Heian period, and chōka vanished soon afterwards. Thus, the term waka came in time to refer only to tank

 

Sawarabi: Spring Ferns with Waka Poem75x12 189.4 x 29.4 and original Artists Box £220

Haiga of Early summer/ Late spring and poem with box

Signed by the artist dated in 1943 of early summer by Seishun Sanjin

The poem reads:

Being taken to a grass hut,

there I feel the spring wind

Composed by Seishun Sanjin

(Waka style calligraphy presents me with another challenge because its grass script written in a further grass script)

 

 
 Other flowers used in Japanese Scrolls include Hotaru (English-Bellflower)

Bellflower Campanula punctata (family: Campanulaceae) is called Hotaru-Bukuro in Japanese which translates to The Fireflys Bag
Every flower of hotaru-bukuro has petals that look like a pocket, and it is said that people in old times put a firefly in every pocket-like flower to make fantastic lighting

Additional Notes: There are Two special types of fireflies,the Heike-botaru and the Genji-botaru 源氏蛍,  in Japan.
Japanese children used to insert firefly in the flowers of the Bell Flower and watched it flicker in the dark.
This is where the name is derived "hotaru bukuro" or the firefly's bag.
To look at and catch fireflies was one of the common pleasures of the farming families from ancient times. Since the widespread use of farm chemicals, the number of Fireflies  number has  declined and nowadays many
villages in Japan make special efforts to help protect and breed these wonderful animals as an attraction for tourists and  local children.
This is an old Japanese childrens song about Fireflies: Ho ho hotaru koi
Hey, fireflies, come here!  The water over there is bitter.
The water here is so sweet,  so fireflies, come here, please.


 

 

 

 

 

Two paintings by Ujo Hara.A.D 1884-1971. Born in Kumamoto pref. Painter, poet, calligrapher. He was a student of Chokunyu Tanomura, Chikugai  Himejima . Seisho Fukuda.

These have now been  restored and mounted into a pair of matching scrolls with a double Antique Kimono Silk covered Scroll Box The scrolls are 32 inches wide

The set is £675

 

YOSAI OKADA. A.D 1784-1864. Born in KAGA clan (ISHIKAWA) 1840 seal Portrait of a Quince. £375

Before restoration this scroll painting was in a bad state. Many holes had to be repaired and the creases taken out as far as was possible. It was a great deal of slow and careful restoration that took a long time. However, as it is painted by a famous master it was important to bring the scroll back to life. With Box.

 

Recently mounted with new Silks. this is actually pale Grey and not pale Blue Date 1920's

Size

£195 including Box

The Heron. Painted by the renowned artist Hoyo in 1900. Recently remounted and restored. The silk mounts are antique Kimono Silk of Willow branches with a fan to emphasis being cool in hot weather. The silk is beautiful and comes with a matching box. £245

Kudamono Kago -The Fruit Basket

Recently restored this beautiful stylised painting of a fruit basket dates form the 1950's and shows the modernist graphics used during this  period. I have given the scroll new silks and it is a perfect scroll for a modern apartment or house £155

 
 

 

  

 

Ran no zu (orchid painting) before restoration          After restoration

 

The scroll was rebacked, creases taken out and new silk mounts. The original scroll ends were badly damaged so we made new scroll ends in a dense Chinese Rosewood.

The box is from silk that was originally used for a Kimono in the 19th century. Heavily embroidered, this is truly a work of art in its own right.

 

Artist: Kinoshita Itsuun (September 9, 1800-  September 12, 1866)

A wonderful small painting of an orchid plant by Kinoshita Itsuun. Signed and sealed by the artist. Kinoshita Itsuun is not too well known as a Japanese artist but within the Nagasaki Nanga School he is considered as a member of one the three great families of the Nagasaki Nanga School. Kinoshita was born in Nagasaki City Yahatamachi in 1800 and was the third son of Kinoshita Shigemasa.

At the age of 18 he inherited the Kinoshita estate and in 1829 left his estate to his nephew in order to fulfil his dream to became a doctor and entered Dokuseido a school that teaches the Dutch methods of treating small pox and other Western medicine.

 During his studies he also took up painting under the tutorship of a well respected local painter Ishizaki Yuushi, in order to learn the Chinese style known as Tang painting and continued his studies with some of the Chinese masters resident in Japan and  especially with Chen Yizhou, who had settled  for a time in Nagasaki  and who, incidentally, also taught Western styles.

He continued study of painting with his long time friend, Tetsuo Somon gaining high praise from the great masters, Tanomura Chikuden, Rai Sanyo, and Hirose Tanso. He was very successful as a teacher by this time and students included Kawamura Ukoku, Ikejma Sosen, Tsuda Nanchiku, his nephew and younger sister. Kinoshita was not just famous for his paintings,  and he was talented in many things including being known for his calligraphy, seal carvings, his biwa solos, and sencha (loose leaf tea ceremony). He was also known for developing the chemicals to create Kameyama wares and their white celadon.

Through his background working with Chinese masters, he could speak Chinese well and he was an assistant when Chinese emissaries came to Nagasaki and helped develop China-Japan relations. However, when he was returning from visiting Edo, he was on the English boat Kokuryu-maru and was involved in an accident near the shores of Nagasaki and would never return to Nagasaki. He was 68 years old. This is a rare work and has been respectfully restored..

With its special box the scroll is £325

A more modern take on Ran-Orchid, is this beautiful rendition painted onto silk. With box £175

114 /x 58.5 cm 44x24.8 inches

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

Composition in Emerald and Blue, A lovely short scroll in cool blue emerald greens of Hydrangea flowers with their stunning green leaves

Hydrangea macrophylla 48.3x21.7 With Box £155

                           

                 

 

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Hekizan dating from 1890. 75.8x20.8. Remounted in the 1970's This is a beautiful still life of Mushrooms, pine needles and Plum. With box £195

Hekizan dating from circa 1890. Fruit basket and Vase with Ume, Matsu and Take, Plum, Pine and Bamboo.

Inscription: The pine and bamboo surviving the frost are still green, the simple plum provides its scent
within the snow, from the renewal of  life the three surely I will receive and gain a hundred years (in life). 
His poem seal says: sitting at the guest house near the southern mountains.