Thatched Cottage in the Willows

mid 1910s

Japanese, 1870 - 1931

Although no birds animate this painting, the thatched cottage roofs are so expressively figured they almost seem to project a life of their own. Their overlapping triangular forms are positioned uphill of a grove of weeping willows, whose impressionistic rendering recalls Western-style painting more than conventional nihonga techniques. Kako's work typifies the synthesis of the modern with the traditional in Japanese-style painting of the Taisho period (1912-1926).

Ink and colors on silk

84 5/8 x 22 in. (215 x 55.9 cm)

Gift of Griffith and Patricia Way, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2010.41.29

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, "Transforming Traditions: Japanese and Korean Art since 1800", May 23, 2009 - February 21, 2010

Published ReferencesMichiyo, Morioka; Berry, Paul. "Modern Masters of Kyoto: The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions," Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1999, p. 158, illus. 36.

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