Itō Jakuchū (伊藤 若冲)
Itō Jakuchū was born in 1716 in Kyoto to a family of successful grocers. Their store, Masuya was bequeathed to Jakuchū upon his father’s death in 1739, which he begrudgingly ran until 1755. Jakuchū’s desire to devote himself to more cultural pursuits led him to build an artist’s studio shortly after turning 30. When he turned 40, Jakuchū turned management of the Masuya over to his younger brother to become an artist full-time . [1]
In the mid-1770s, Jakuchū was introduced to Daiten Kenjō, an intellectual Zen monk. This friendship would become one of the most defining aspects of Jakuchū’s identity as a Buddhist and as an artist. Daiten’s connection with the Buddhist temple, Shōkokuji, gave Jakuchū invaluable access to Chinese paintings, which would prove inspire many of Jakuchū’s future compositions. As Jakuchū’ and Daiten’s religious careers continued to advance, Daiten became the 113th abbot of Shōkokuji temple and Jakuchū’s popularity amongst many Zen Buddhist temples grew . [2]
Jakuchū was the longest-lived of all his family. Jakuchū outlived his parents and all of his siblings. Experiencing this loss would prove to have an impressive effect on Jakuchū’s Buddhist faith. Many of his paintings came to reflect numerology beliefs. In addition, funerary rites played an important part of Jakuchū’s philosophy, even erecting a funerary stele for himself almost 30 years prior to his death. A mere two years after leaving his position as the head of the family, Jakuchū began the series that would become his best-known work that would take almost a decade to complete: the Colorful Realm of Living Beings and Śākaymuni Triptych. This series is widely regarded to be Jakuchū’s greatest accomplishment. Composed of 30 bird and flower paintings and a Śākyamuni and Bodhisattva triptych. Jakuchū donated the first 27 paintings of Colorful Realm on the eleventh anniversary of his father’s death and seven after his younger brother died . [3]
In addition to the funerary context of Colorful Realm, Shōkokuji temple came to use the set in its Kannon redemption ritual, also known as the Kannon Senboe ritual. The Superintendent Priest of Rinzaishu-Shōkokuji-ha, Arima Raitei, states that the triad and the Colorful Realm “depict the promise made at Śākyamuni’s enlightenment that all the resident of the mountains and streams, fields and trees would become Buddhas. These 33 scrolls thus reflect the 33 manifestations of Avalokitesvara [Kannon]… ” [4]
In Jakuchū’s later life, he works took a more monochromatic turn. In addition, many of his forms became more abstract and stylized, as seen in his set of screens White Elephant and Other Beasts. Jakuchū died in 1800 at the age of 85.
[1] Hirabayashi, Moritoku. Twelve Centuries of Japanese Art from the Imperial Collections. Washington, DC: Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 19997. Print.
[2] Rosenfield, Johon M., and Fumiko E. Cranston. Extraordinary Persons: Works by Eccentric, Nonconformist Japanese Artists of the Early modern Era (1580 – 1868) in the collection of Kimiko and John Powers. Ed. Naomi N. Richard. Vol. 3. Cambridge, Mass.. Harvard U Artmuseums, 1999. Print.
[3] Lippit, Yuko, Ota Aya, Oka Yasuhiro, and Hayakawa Yasuhiro. Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Ito Jakuchū. Washington, DC: National Gallery of art, Japan: the Imperial Household Agency and Nikkei Inc. 2012. Print.
[4] Nobuo, Tsuji, Kobayashi Tadashi, Arita Raitei, and Joe Price. Jakuchū Exhibition: A Reunion between the Śākyamuni triad and the Colorful Realm of Living Beings after 120 Years. Shōkokuji Jotekaku Museum; Nikkei Inc.; The Museum of Imperial collections: Dannomaru Shozokan; New Color Photographic Printing Ltd., 2007. Print.