Plum Branch

Plum Branch , 1916, Taisho period (1912–1926)

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: paper; ink

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 128.5 x 41.3 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 50 9/16 x 16 1/4 in
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 203.7 x 65.5 cm
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 80 3/16 x 25 13/16 in

Credit line: Gift of Jay Gates, Director, Spencer Museum of Art, 1984–1987

Accession number: 2012.0610

Not on display

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Nature/Natural

A long, swerving branch with thin offshoots and delicate plum blossoms encircles two lines of calligraphy. The plum branch is rendered in washed-ink tones, accentuating the calligraphic centerpiece brushed with darker strokes. Plum blossoms bud in the midst of winter, bracing themselves against the bitterness of the season and signaling the coming of spring. They represent Confucian virtue and signify the ideal of maintaining integrity when faced with adverse conditions. Fujisawa Nangaku, who wrote the calligraphy, was a prominent Confucian scholar during the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. In 1873, he revived the Osaka Hakuen Confucian Academy, which had been established by his father, Fujisawa Tōgai (1795–1865). At this private school, Nangaku taught his students Chinese history, culture, and Confucian principles.

A long, swerving branch with thin offshoots and delicate plum blossoms encircles two lines of calligraphy. The plum branch is rendered in washed-ink tones, accentuating the calligraphic centerpiece brushed with darker strokes. Plum blossoms bud in the midst of winter, bracing themselves against the bitterness of the season and signaling the coming of spring. They represent Confucian virtue and signify the ideal of maintaining integrity when faced with adverse conditions. Fujisawa Nangaku, who wrote the calligraphy, was a prominent Confucian scholar during the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. In 1873, he revived the Osaka Hakuen Confucian Academy, which had been established by his father, Fujisawa Togai (1795-1865). At this private school, Nangaku taught his students Chinese history, culture, and Confucian principles.

Exhibition Label: "Nature/Natural," Jan-2014, Kris Ercums A long, swerving branch with thin offshoots and delicate plum blossoms encircles two lines of calligraphy. The plum branch is rendered in washed-ink tones, accentuating the calligraphic centerpiece brushed with darker strokes. Plum blossoms bud in the midst of winter, bracing themselves against the bitterness of the season and signaling the coming of spring. They represent Confucian virtue and signify the ideal of maintaining integrity when faced with adverse conditions. Fujisawa Nangaku, who wrote the calligraphy, was a prominent Confucian scholar during the late 19th- and early 20th-centuries. In 1873, he revived the Osaka Hakuen Confucian Academy, which had been established by his father, Fujisawa Tōgai (1795–1865). At this private school, Nangaku taught his students Chinese history, culture, and Confucian principles.