Autumn Plants and Quail (Important Art Object)

A moon floats in the sky, while reeds, ominaeshi (patrinia), dayflowers and quail are seen in the fields of this chilly autumn night scene. The finely wrought autumn grasses silhouettes weave an intricate compositional arrangement, accented by the plump roundness of moon and quail. Quail paintings in Japan generally developed as copies of the works on the theme by the Chinese Song dynasty court painter Li An-chung, and became a particularly favored theme for Tosa school painters in the pre-modern era. The specifically detailed depiction of each individual feather on the bird suggests that Hôitsu had actually seen works by Li An-chung, while the shallow and clear space with autumn grasses as primary motif and the varied depiction of the quail are similar to Tosa school quail images. The signature in the lower left indicates that the work was created in the Bunka 6 to 14 period (1809-17) when the painter was using his Ôson artistic name.