Fans and Stream
"Fans and Stream"
by Sakai Hoitsu (1761-1828)
"The subject of fans floating in a stream (senmen nagashi) is said to have originated with an event that took place in Kyoto in which a fan belonging to one member of a shogunal procession was swept away by the wind and floated to the river below. The other members of the party found this accident so beautiful, that they too threw their fans down to the water."
What a story!
And what a painting,
done in the later years of this artist's career,
after he had become a monk,
and was emulating Ogata Kōrin,
a painter whom his daimyo clan
had collected
a collection
of beautiful accidents
This is one of the screens
from the St. Louis Art Museum
now on display
in Regenstein Hall at the Art Institute.
posted by chris miller at 7:57 PM
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