Jennifer Spires

Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons is a painting produced in Japan in the second half of the 1500s by a follower of calligrapher and screen painter Sesshū Tōyō. It is presumed to be part of a set of works of the same name. In this work/presumed series, the artist presents observations of birds and flowers set within a Japanese landscape that changes across the four seasons.

Figure 1. Follower of Sesshū Tōyō (1420-1506). Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons. c. Muromachi period. Six-panel folding screen, ink, and color on paper. Cleveland Museum of Art. Image: 158.5 x 359.4 cm (62 3/8 x 141 1/2 in.); Overall: 175.2 x374.4 cm (69 x 147 3/8 in.)

While there is no known information about the artist who painted the work, it is known that his mentor, Sesshū Tōyō, whose original surname was Oda, was born in Akahama, Japan. Little is known about Sesshū Tōyō’s early life, but it is recorded that he enrolled at the local Zen temple, Hofuku Temple, at the age of ten and there earned the name “Tōyō.”[1] During his time at the temple, aside from religious guidance, he received much instruction in calligraphy and painting as Zen Buddhist temples were the primary sources of artistic and cultural centres and spiritual life. By 1440, Tōyō left for Kyoto to reside in the Shokoku Temple, where he studied painting under Shūbun, the most famous Japanese artist during that time, and studied Buddhism under Shurin Suto, a famous Zen master. While under Shūbun’s mentorship, he likely also had the opportunity to study Chinese monochrome ink paintings, whose style and choice of subject matter heavily influenced Sesshū Tōyō.

Sesshū Tōyō is best known for his Zen-inspired paintings, which are credited with establishing a unique Japanese style of ink painting, greatly influencing the future of Japanese painting.[2] His works include paintings of landscapes, Zen Buddhist pictures, and screens that were decorated with flowers, birds, and other animals. He also adapted Chinese techniques to Japanese artistic ideas and aesthetic sensibilities, which earned him the title of one of the greatest artists of the Japanese art of monochrome ink painting, also known as sumi-e and suiboku-ga. Monochrome ink painting was already being practiced in China during the Sung dynasty, and the techniques travelled to Japan in the mid-14th century through Zen Buddhists.[3] The key characteristic of this technique is the bold use of black ink strokes and washes, allowing the artist to eliminate all but the essential character, the most crucial part, of their subject, inspired by the philosophies of Zen Buddhism. This very technique can be seen especially clearly in the background of Sesshū Tōyō’s own work of Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons: Spring and Summer. (Figure. 2)

In terms of the subject of the work, representations of the four seasons have been popular throughout the history of Japanese art. Perhaps because the climate presents such distinct seasons within Japan the subject holds significance, and the genres of seasonal painting also allow for the aesthetic contemplation of nature which would have been encouraged in Japanese philosophies. Colorful silk screen paintings of the twelve seasons were already popular in the Heian period (794-1185). Later in the Kamakura period (1192-1333) a format of smaller album painting emerged that paired poetry with images of the seasons.[4] During this time, the calligrapher and poet Fujiwara no Teika produced Jūnikagetsu kachō zu, a publication of poems and images of birds and flowers of specific months. The subject of the four seasons features prominently in both Sesshū Tōyō and his mentor Shūbun’s artistic oevres in the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Capturing images of seasonal change would also be of interest long after Sesshū Tōyō and his follower were working, as during the Edo period (1603-1867) paintings of seasonal subjects once again became popular in more widely distributed formats.

Figure 2. Sesshu Toyo (1420-1506), Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons: Spring and Summer, Muromachi period, late 15th- early 16th century, Ink and color on paper, H x W: 178.1 × 375.7 cm (70 1/8 × 147 15/16 in).

The two paintings created by a student or follower of Tōyō in the Cleveland Museum of Art, both entitled Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons, were created on a six-panel folding screen with ink and color on paper.[5] The paintings portray different plants and various birds engaging in multiple activities, emphasizing both naturalism and peacefulness throughout different times and seasons. As for the environment, the subjects are depicted inhabiting riverbeds set against mountains that are seen in the far distance. In Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons (Figure 1.) produced by one of Tōyō’s followers, we first see panels depicting the various plants that are in bloom around a riverbed on what is presumed to be a warm spring day. The panels move through depictions of cranes and swallows as the seasons cycle throughout the year. Although it presents different temporal moments, the painting encourages the viewer to move through the landscape as if they were experiencing these seasonal changes in real-time.

After studying the painting, the viewer can clearly see distinctions between the seasons, particularly through the plants in full bloom. Most plants in the outer panels of the painting are greener than the others, creating a focal point for the viewer’s attention and directing their eye throughout the piece. Both the green and subtle pink of the flowers in bloom stand in contrast to the monochrome wash of the background landscape. The follower of Tōyō may also have intentionally wanted to foreground green as the dominant color in this piece because green, a cool color, represents balance and harmony as it is associated with plants and nature. The different kinds of birds flying around the sky also appear in pairs to convey harmony; the arrival and departure of a pair of swallows can be seen to mark the beginning and end of fall and winter. A lone white crane stands out in the second panel, which could signify either purity and peace, or even longevity and the ability to transcend seasons.[6] As for the mountains and the sky in the distant backgrounds, they are seen as still and quiet, emphasizing their permanence and the calmness and peace of this painting’s overall setting alongside the transient symbolism of the birds and plants. There is no doubt that Tōyō’s follower studied his work and was equally inspired to make aspects of Zen philosophy a dominant focus in this work, aiming for the viewer to contemplate calmness, peace, and the harmony of the natural world.

Sesshū Tōyō was definitely an inspiration for his follower who completed a series of works of Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons, as he was for many generations of Japanese artists. Although we do not know the name of this particular follower, we can see how he was deeply inspired by one of the greatest Japanese artists to create what is a magnificent work in its own right.

[1] Munsterberg, H. (2022, January 1). Sesshū. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sesshu

[2] For a full discussion of his techniques and the influence of Zen philosophy in his work see: Yukio Lippit, “Of Modes and Manners in Japanese Ink Painting: Sesshū's "Splashed Ink Landscape" of 1495,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 94, No. 1 (March 2012), pp. 50-77.

[3] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2011, February 16). suiboku-ga. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/suiboku-ga

[4] Haruo Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literature, and the Arts, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2012): 65-66

[5] Follower of Sesshū Tōyō (Japanese, 1420-1506). Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons. n.d. Paintings, Image: 158.5 x 359.4 cm (62 3/8 x 141 1/2 in.); Overall: 175.2 x 374.4 cm (69 x 147 3/8 in.). https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1960.173

[6] Shirane, Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literature, and the Arts, 22.

References

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia (2011, February 16). suiboku-ga. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/suiboku-ga

Lippit, Yukio. “Of Modes and Manners in Japanese Ink Painting: Sesshū's "Splashed Ink Landscape" of 1495,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 94, No. 1 (March 2012), pp. 50-77

Munsterberg, H. (2022, January 1). Sesshū. Encyclopedia Britannica.   https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sesshu

Shirane, Haruo. Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literature, and the Arts. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012.

Citation: Spires, Jennifer. “Birds and Flowers in a Landscape of the Four Seasons.” Journal of Art & Theatre, vol. 1, no. 2 (2022): 8-12.