Loose Leaves – Looking Back / Art Inspired
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Tani Buncho - Dragon in Clouds (British Museum)
Beside the Benten-dō
on the island in the middle of Shinobazu Pond there used to be a painting of a
dragon by Tani Bunchō (1763–1841). It wasn’t easy to find
or particularly easy see, and I suspect many people missed it, because it was
situated on the ceiling over the fountain where visitors to the Benten-dō purify
themselves, washing their hands and mouths, before making their donations, saying
their prayers and lighting incense. I think the painting was removed during the
renovation work after the Benten-dō was damaged during the earthquake on
3 March 2011. It was a small wooden panel, which I very much hope it has since
been preserved somewhere safe. The painting illustrating this poem, also by
Tani Bunchō (which I myself have hung in exhibitions), is part of the Japanese
collection held by the British Museum.
Arcing over water –
a dragon
by the Benten-dō.
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| Yoshida Hiroshi - Carp Tortoises (1940) |
