Untitled

Fukuda Kodōjin 福田古道人

1922 · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

In this highly original and provocative landscape in ink,a literati gentleman sits alone at the lower left, admiring the vastness of the natural world. Fukuda Kodōjin was a versatile artist whose talents extended beyond painting and calligraphy to poetry. He composed both Japanese and Chinese verse, including the poem inscribed at the upper right of the present work: I am old now. Nothing pleases me; nothing worries me, either. Even though I am not dead yet, I already rest from the world. Gathering healing herbs and drinking water, I yearn for Daoist cultivation. Looking down and above, and reciting, I wish to leave but I stay. Rivers flowing and mountains towering, The sun and moon hang above my head. In the vast universe, I travel alone at ease with nature. —transl. Masako Watanabe

Artist

Fukuda Kodōjin 福田古道人

Date

1922

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Gitter-Yelen Collection, 2009