近衛信尹筆 渡唐天神図|Tenjin Traveling to China

Konoe Nobutada

late 16th century · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

This abbreviated, strongly brushed depiction of Tenjin—the posthumously deified spirit of Heian-period statesman and poet Sugawara Michizane (845–903)—was created by the courtier, artist, and poet extolled for his calligraphy as one of the "Three Brushes of the Kan'ei period." Nobutada, who held several high-ranking court positions and was once exiled for political reasons, studied Zen under the abbot Takuan Sōhō (1573–1645) and was influenced by the spontaneous mode of painting practiced by Zen monks. He produced a number of ink paintings of Tenjin in a spare, powerful style characterized by an economy of brushwork and sketch-like quality. A near-duplicate of this particular version exists in the Manyo’an Collection in New Orleans. The text, composed and inscribed by Nobutada, reads: If just the heart is set on the path of truth, even without prayers, will not gods protect me? —Trans. Miyeko Murase

Artist

Konoe Nobutada

Date

late 16th century

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015