Dynamic, highly descriptive, and visually effective scenes portray the calamities of wind, war, fire, thunder, flood, eagles, wolves, and snakes. The theme of this painting originated with Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795), the great master who received a commission from Abbot Yujo of the En’man-in at Shokoku-ji for scrolls portraying Shichinan shichifuku zukan, “The Seven Calamities and the Seven Felicities.”1 Yujo and Okyo took their inspiration from Buddhist sutras such as the Nio-kyo, “Nio sutra,” and Kan’non-kyo, “Kannon sutra,” as well as such classic paintings as the Jigoku-e, “Hell Scrolls,” and the Rokudoo-e, “Paintings of the Six Realms.” The theme proved extremely popular, and numbers of artists, including Tamura Kyoshu (1789-?), Mori Yuzan (1814-1894), and Terasaki Kogyo (1866-1919) took up the challenge posed by Okyo’s innovative compositions.
Despite the close similarity of the present work to those by Okyo, there are some differences. This is on silk rather than paper, so the line here is more gentle and delicate and less calligraphic. This artist also created his own arrangements of the scenes for more interesting visual effects.
Fukuda Chokujo (1861-1947) was born in Omi, the present-day Shiga Prefecture, but moved to Kyoto at a young age to study painting with Morikawa Sobun (1847-1902) of the Shijo School. In 1882 his work was accepted in the first Naikoku Kaiga Kyoshinkai, and he won an award in 1884. Moving to Osaka in 1886, Chokujo became a leading painter with such disciples as Hirai Chokusui and Nakagawa Wado. In 1907 he became a committee member of the important Bunten competition, moving in the last days of his life to Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture.
1. For further information see:
-Mabuchi Miho, “Maruyama Okyo hitsu Nanfuku zukan no kenkyo,” E wo mochii, e wo shiru—Nihon bijutsu ni okeru senko zuyo no riyo, 2011;
-Maruyama Okyo—shasei ga, sozo heno chosen, Exhibition catalogue, Osaka Municipal Museum, 2003;
-Mori Kansai, Nanatsu no sinan, nanatsu no kofuku—Maruyama-ha mohon emaki no sekai, Kyoto University of Art and Design, 2000;
-Shibata Shuhei, “Fukada Chokujo hitsu ‘Chokujo kyo gajo’ ni okeru kensei to kindai,” Kansai Univerity Museum, 2011.
Details:
Painting box lid:
直城圖
“Painting by Chokujō.”
Inside inner box lid:
直城自題「not clear」
Chokujō jidai [?]
Chokujō titled himself (myself)
Box end:
直城 筆七難図
Chokujō painted “Seven Calamities” painting