Discussion

This week's demonstration painting is a combination subject; a painting in which there are multiple elements combined in a single composition. The combination has a name; Noble Friends in Winter (saikan senro 歳寒仙侶) in which rocks, narcissi, plum blossoms, and bamboo are arranged together.

For information about narcissi (suisen), see Lesson Module 1.

For information about rocks (iwa), see Lesson Module 3.

The type of bamboo chosen for this week's painting is Nagasa Veitchii (Latin = Sasa veitchii). It is also called Kuma Bamboo Grass. The Japanese name is sasa (笹).

Sasa is a spreading bamboo that forms clumps of slender canes. Its leaf margins become light cream color in late fall while the leaf center remains dark green. It may appear as a low shrub or as a ground cover depending on how it is maintained. Its type of bamboo leaf is called kuma-zasa.

Plum blossoms are the final element in saikan senro paintings.

Putting all four of these elements into the same composition can be a challenge; one that has been met by Japanese masters.

Very little is known about Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783 - 1856). He was born in Nagoya, and his father was a sculptor in the service of a Daimyo (regional Lord) in Nagoya. He was friends with Nakabayashi Chikutō (1776 - 1853), a Nanga school painter. That is about it.

The saikan senro painting below; formally titled Plum, Narcissus, Bamboo with Magpie; was executed sometime during 1832 - 1852).

Common Subject Combinations

Noble Friends in Winter (saikan senro) is one of many common painting subject combinations in Japanese art. The chart below lists it and many others.