White Clouds and Autumn Leaves

This work was exhibited in the third Naikoku Kangyo Hakurankai (Domestic Industrial Exposition). The rigid composition of the bottom part of the picture, which resembles a monochrome ink painting, is contrasted with the expression of space by the skillful arrangement of colors in the upper part.

With its waterfall, flowing water, rocks, and trees, the lower half of this picture is a traditional landscape painting, which masterfully applies sharp line drawing and shades of sumi ink. We can understand from its style how Hashimoto was the foremost disciple of Kano Shosen’in Tadanobu of the Kobikicho area of Edo. The upper half of the picture, on the other hand, is a scene of a deep, remote ravine where white clouds hover beyond trees adorned with green and red foliage. It is in this contrast that we clearly recognize the artist’s intent. Needless to say, as the title indicates, Hashimoto’s focus was on the upper half of the painting. Here, he demonstrated subtle originality and invention in his rendering of space, for example, by painting clouds in gold paint over the upper part of the white clouds and sprinkling gold powder beneath the green foliage. Sympathetic to Okakura Tenshin’s views, Hashimoto introduced new directions into the style of the Kano School, which by this time had been reduced to a mere shell of its former self, and tried to revolutionize Japanese style painting (Nihonga). This work represents one of the outcomes of his efforts, in which he presented new artistic possibilities by boldly contrasting solid traditional painting techniques with an expression of space that took into account Western methods of perspective and chiaroscuro. Although this work grapples straightforwardly with clear objectives, we can feel the artist’s relaxed stance in his depiction of the two monkeys on a rock, cooling themselves while enjoying the sight of the waterfall and autumn colors. (Writer : Masato Satsuma Source : Selected Masterpieces from The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music: Grand Opening Exhibition, The University Art Museum, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, 1999)