Seven Sages in a Bamboo Grove (Formerly on the sliding doors in the Nagashima household)

Heretical, fantastic, eccentric… These words are often used to describe Shōhaku and his artwork. When you look at the distinctive expressions of the men chatting in the thatched cottage in this painting, these words do come to mind, but Shōhaku’s appeal does not lie only on his “peculiarities.” One can clearly see his skill as a painter in Seven Sages in a Bamboo Grove. (This painting was formerly located on the sliding doors of the Nagashima household in Meiwa-chō. Forty-four sliding doors in the Nagashima house were covered with paintings, and eight of them were covered with the panels of this painting.) Shōhaku has used a single color of ink to create accurate depictions of quite disparate materials, ranging from the soft snow gathered upon the bamboo to the robes of the sages. Also noteworthy is the painting’s composition. The movement of the bamboo drooping under the weight of the snow draws the viewer’s gaze to the lower left. The man with his back to us walks to the left, and other motifs, namely the placement of the five chatting figures and the direction of the gentleman’s cane, also point to the left like the snow-covered bamboo. In short, the painting seems to progress to the left. Clearly, what makes Shōhaku so attractive lies not only in his uninhibited and extravagant style, but also in his skilful use of ink and clever composition.