Figures in Landscape
18th century
These two lyrical scenes depict the annual event of “pulling pine-saplings,” a tradition dating back to the Nara period (710–794), and which always took place during the first month of the year. On this day, nobility pulled pine-saplings and harvested vegetables as they prayed for a long life, represented by the pine trees, which they would plant in the capital gardens. In this pair of hanging scrolls, the women are plucking the pine-saplings from the ground while the men are harvesting the vegetables.
Itaya Hiromasa, a painter of the Sumiyoshi school, received patronage from the Tokugawa shogunate. Here he rendered the figures in the yamato-e style to best suit this classical subject.
Color on paper and silk
70 1/2 x 20 3/8 in. (179.1 x 51.8 cm)
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
48.133.2
Photo: Beth Mann