Among the albums of paintings by Tanomura Chikuden 田能村竹田 (1777-1835),
Matamata ichiraku cho 亦復一楽帖 is especially renowned as a masterpiece, and all thirteen paintings bear inscriptions. In this article I explore the format in which these inscriptions are written, that is, the manner in which the calligraphy and painting are placed and arranged on the same page, and I clarify a characteristic of the page composition to be seen in Chikuden's album paintings.
Among the inscriptions found in Chikuden's albums produced in his later years, there are some like that in painting no. 4 of
Matamata ichiraku cho which follow a traditional (or "square") method of writing, making much use of regular script and aligning the top and bottom of adjacent lines, while others, taking into account the position of the painting, are "hook-shaped" or else "interlocked," the latter of which have line breaks that appear to be irregular but have been deliberately inserted. The format to be seen in painting no. 13, in which line breaks have been inserted in the inscription so that it encircles the plum and narcissuses depicted in the centre of the page, has no precedent in Japanese literati paintings, and marked similarities can be seen with works by the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou 揚州 and with the
Jieziyuan huazhuan 芥子園画伝 (pt. 1, vol. 5). Chinese painting manuals such as the
Jieziyuan huazhuan were being used at the time for the self-study of painting without a teacher, and Chikuden paid attention not only to the distinctive formats of inscriptions in these works, but also to the new calligraphic style of using a semi-dry brash with fine, straight lines, and clearly incorporated these into his own works.
In light of the above, it is to be surmised that, in addition to the general function of recording an explanation of the painting or the painter's sentiments, Chikuden also assigned to inscriptions a role as a structurally quite important element in making up the page when combining painting and calligraphy in the same work. It could be said, in other words, that he created a form of page composition that was incomplete without an inscription that was in keeping with the painting.
Matamata ichiraku cho could be described as a synoptic album that covers all possible formats for writing and placing inscriptions, including "square," "hook-shaped," and "interlocked" types.
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