Living by a Secluded Cliff, Nakayama Kōyō

Exhibition Label:
"Nature/Natural," Feb-2011, Kris Ercums
Kōyō was especially famous for his publications of travel journals and a theoretical treatise. His Travel Diary from the Northeastern Region vividly documents a literati’s travel experience at the time, as well as the vogue for literati trends in the tōhoku or northwestern region of Japan. Kōyō was eagerly welcomed by locals, including politicians, merchants, and students, who craved to absorb the newest trends of literati taste. After this journey, he published his theoretical reflection on Chinese and Japanese painting named Gatan Keiroku (Miscellaneous Episodes of Painting), which became a bestselling book at the time.
Compared to his contemporary, Ike no Taiga (on view this gallery), Kōyō’s painting demonstrates a more direct impact of Chinese literati style. This painting shows a literati’s dwelling deep in the mountains. The man prepares to receive a friend. Through minimum and spontaneous brush-strokes, Kōyō captures the cordiality of friendship, an abiding theme in literati culture.

Exhibition Label:
Asian Gallery, Fall 2003, Youmi Efurd
Nakayama Kōyō, born in Sakai-machi in Tosa, was a son of a dealer in antiques and Chinese objects. He may have studied under the Nanga (Chinese literati tradition) pioneer Sakai Hyakusen (1698-1753), but he was largely self-taught, learning from imported Chinese woodblock printed books and albums.
Living by a Secluded Cliff, a refined and lyrical work from his late years, bears a poetic inscription by his friend, the well-known calligrapher, Sawada Tōkō (1732-1796). Although little sense of depth is apparent, atmospheric perspective is created through light washes of blue on the distant mountain and under the leaves of the tree and bamboo.

Archive Label date unknown:
Nakayama Kōyō was an early painter of the Japanese Nanga School, a loose affiliation of artists who drew their inspiration from the Chinese wenren (literati) tradition. He may have studied under the Nanga pioneer Sakaki Hyakusen (1698-1753), but he was largely self-taught, learning from imported Chinese woodblock-printed books and albums. Typical of Japanese Nanga painters, his work was eclectic, borrowing from different Chinese painting styles and schools. The inscription on the painting comes from a Chinese poem of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and the dignified calligraphy is that of Sawada Toko (1732-1796), a well-known calligrapher and a friend of the artist. The inscription reads:
Building a thatched hut and planting trees by a secluded cliff,
I follow the wandering deer, hidden from the world of men.
Outside my hut, green mountains lead to a short pathway;
In front of my door, groves of slender bamboo keep the cold at bay.
Leaning on my black leather table, I can gaze at the clouds,
Entertaining visitors, I leisurely don my crane-feather coat.
This place where I live is the hut of a Taoist hermit;
Here the desolate west wind brings autumn to the osmanthus bushes.

Archive Label date unknown:
The eclectic background of Nakayama Kōyō enabled him to achieve combinations of styles that would not be possible for more formally trained painters. He taught himself Chinese styles by studying woodblock books and copying Chinese paintings. Living by a Secluded Cliff, a refined and lyrical work from his late years, bears a poetic inscription by his friend, the well-known calligrapher, Sawada Tōkō. Although little sense of depth is apparent, atmospheric perspective is created through light washes of blue on the distant mountain and under the leaves of the tree and bamboo.