Shangri-La and Red Cliff

Tani Buncho (1763-1840) was a Nanga (Southern Chinese style) painter who was born in Edo. He first learned painting from painters of the Kano school and then from Watanabe Gentai at the age around 18. Later, Buncho studied a wide range of painting styles regardless of school, including Japanese paintings such as Yamato-e, Rimpa and Maruyama schools, as well as paintings of foreign countries ranging from Chinese, Korea to western paintings, after which he finally established his own style. The painting was themed around a Chinese verse. On the right scroll, a scene of “Tao-hua-yuan-ji” composed by Tao Yuanming, is represented. At the bottom of the painting, you can see the fisherman, who happened to find a Shangri-la, with a paddle on his shoulder and his boat below him. Beyond the mountain of peach blooms, a rice field filled with water spreads out, and the houses of villagers are depicted. The painting on the left scroll was created based on the inspiration of Chi-bi fu which was composed about a cliff in Chang Jiang by Su Shi, a poet in the era of Sung dynasty. It depicts a scene of the poet enjoying the time with his guest on a bright moonlight night in early autumn. A massive cliff on the left side and contrastingly small representation of a full moon, a boat, and human figures on board, with surrounding white clouds blurred at the center successfully create a magnificent view.