Mountains in my Heart, Kameda Bōsai

Archive Label 2003 (version 1):
My painting from its inception has had no method,
How can it be appreciated in this world?
Merely showing a calm and relaxed feeling,
It depicts the mountains in my heart.

Archive Label 2003 (version 2):
Kameda Bosai was a Japanese literatus, Confucian scholar, and one of the most popular scholar-artists of his day. He generally followed the Yi Fujiu tradition of simplified depictions of nature derived from the styles of Chinese Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) masters. Here, however, restrained minimalism has given way to a mad freedom of expression. A bare minimum of lively brushwork conveys the scene, with only a few dots and texturing strokes adding a touch of naturalism to this almost cartoonlike view of nature.

Bosai emphasized the uninhibited character of the landscape in his signature, seals, and in the poem that he inscribed on the painting in his characteristic cursive script. The signature, “Uninhibitedly painted by Bosai,” is followed by two seals: “Bosai the crazy old man” and “Peaceful era drunkard.” The poem reads:
My painting from its inception has had no method,
How can it be appreciated in this world?
Merely showing a calm and relaxed feeling
It depicts the mountains in my heart.

Archive Label date unknown:
Kameda Bōsai, like his teacher Inoue Kinga, was a scholar-artist who followed the I Fu-chiu tradition of simplified depictions of nature derived from the styles of Chinese Yuan dynasty masters. Bōsai conveyed his vision with strong outines and only a few dots and texture strokes. The poem that Bōsai inscribed on this landscape sums up both his view of painting and his uninhibited character:
My painting from its inception has had no method,
How can it be appreciated in this world?
Merely showing a calm and relaxed feeling,
It depicts the mountains in my heart.