Li Bai viewing the waterfall at Mt. Lu

相阿弥筆 観瀑図 一幅 紙本墨画 室町時代
KANO connection
Who is this man, and where is he supposed to be? Educated Japanese viewers in the 1500s would have recognized him as the Chinese poet Li Bai (also called Li Bo; 701–762), and probably could quote from his famous ode to the waterfall at Mt. Lu:
Sunlight streaming on Incense Stone kindles violet smoke; far off I watch the waterfall plunge to the long river, flying waters descending straight three thousand feet, till I think the Milky Way has tumbled from the ninth height of Heaven
(Translation by Burton Watson)
Li Bai's popularity as a painting subject in Japan occurred at a time when leaders of the military were devoted connoisseurs of Chinese poetry, painting, and ceramics. This work's artist, Soami, was able to study a major collection of imported Chinese art through his position as art advisor to the top military ruler. Soami shows his appreciation for paintings from the Chinese Southern Song (1127–1279) court through his deliberate use of Song-style twisted trees, faceted rocks, and angular ink outlines.
Similar features appear in works by Kano school founders Masanobu (approx. 1434–1530) and his son Motonobu (1476–1569), who were contemporaries of Soami.