Turtles under a Plum Trees, Cranes with Bamboo and Turtles uder a Pine Tree

Yuhi (1712-1773) was a painter active in Nagasaki, and served as a Chinese interpreter for the Tang court. In 1732, he studied under Chinese painter Shin Nanpin, who was staying in Nagasaki for 1 year. This group of three paintings features a composition of bamboo and seven cranes in the center, a turtle beneath a pine tree growing from a cliff and two turtles in a swirling wave on the right, and on the left red and white plum trees, a turtle with long, red, hair-like moss growing on its shell and two small turtles riding on top of it. It can be pointed out that the 3-dimensionality of the rocks, the surface of the trees, and the grass and moss, all display a similarity to his teacher Shin Nanpin’s style of painting.