Dragon and Clouds

A dragon’s head is visible just above the center of a pitch-black cloud. The dragon’s mouth, nose, ear, and horn are drawn upside-down. Three fingers grasping a ball appear in the lower right, and the scales on the underside of the head and body are just visible. In the upper portion of the composition, and from the right side of the dragon’s head to the lower part of the composition, no ink has been applied, leaving the color of the paper untouched. Blurring and subtle changes in ink tone at the outline of the clouds create a sense of depth and movement. Jakuchū is also known to have painted a forward-facing dragon with a large mouth, and a side-view of a dragon, both depicted with large eyebrows, and the scales of the body painted with a streaking technique.