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Named Painting Subjects

The Japanese language has names for some kinds of artwork featuring certain kinds of subject matter. For example, kachō-ga means pictures of birds and flowers. Any kind of living plants (not just flowers) and animals (not just birds) qualify as kachō-ga, with the additional requirement that no humans are included. Bijin-ga means pictures of beautiful people, male or female, though female subjects dominate the genre. Look under A2.4.1 Japanese Vocabulary: Painting Subjects, for a more complete list.

There is another type of named artwork that is much more specific about what subjects are included. One example is Shiai which is a painting that contains plum blossoms, orchids, lotuses, and chrysanthemums. Its name means Four Loves. Fukichōshun means Wealth and Prosperity, and it always contains the combination of peonies and roses; at least one of each.

This week's painting subject is another one of these special named combinations. Isshō means Sense of Humor, and its composition includes bamboos (take) and dogs (inu).

Bamboo

Bamboo is a type of grass. There are over 1,400 bamboo species around the world divided into 115 genera. They range from Raddiella vanessiae, the smallest bamboo, found in French Guiana, that grows less than an inch tall to the tallest bamboo, Dendrocalamus giganteus from southeast Asia which can grow to over 130 feet tall (one source says 164 feet) and have culm as much as 11 inches in diameter.

Less extreme in either direction is the Phyllostachys nuda from China.

Most bamboo species have many things in common. This illustration shows what they are. Most culms are hollow between nodes.

One way of classifying bamboo is by the types of underground rhizomes they have. A rhizome is an underground stem. There are two main types. Some are called running bamboo. Those have thin rhizomes which extend horizontally underground for long distances.

Running bamboo are responsible for bamboo forests like this one at Arashiyama near Kyōto. They can lengthen indefinitely as long as the leading point of the rhizome is not damaged.

Running bamboo are not for typical backyard gardens unless your neighbors don't mind your very-difficult-to-remove bamboo taking over the entire neighborhood.

Another major type is a clumping bamboo. The rhizomes of clumping bamboo move outward for short distances and tend to stay near the original source. Each of the bamboo clumps in this photo is a discrete plant.

Healthy bamboo are never without leaves. New leaves emerge annually, pushing off older foliage. There are many different arrangements of bamboo leaves on stems and various sizes and appearances, but nearly all individual bamboo leaves have the same basic shape. Here are some examples.

Most bamboo species flower infrequently. Intervals between flowering have been recorded up to 65 and more years. All members of bamboo species with these long-term flowering intervals usually all flower together in the same few year period. Phyllostachys bambusoides has the longest recorded flowering period; 130 years. When it flowers, all plants of the same stock flower together regardless of where in the world they may be. Then they all die.

That part about the same stock suggests that there may be genetically independent stocks so that not every Phyllostachys bambusoides in the whole world flowers and dies off simultaneously. Separate stocks, separate schedules. I'm not certain if that is correct, though. Seeds can help to continue the species.

Here is one type of bamboo flower. There are others.

The primary means by which bamboo thrives and spreads is by sending up shoots from the rhizome in the spring and early summer.

Bamboo shoots of about 100 species are harvested for human consumption. They contain toxins that are removed by boiling. They are used as vegetables in many Asian countries. Young shoots have a crisp texture and sweet taste.

Dogs 

There is only one species of dog in the world; Canis familiaris. However, through selective breeding, there are more than 360 recognized dog breeds. Dogs became a separate species from wolves an estimated 27 to 40 thousand years ago. They became our first domesticated animal roughly 14 to 15 thousand years ago. Today's worldwide dog population is an estimated 700 million to 1 billion animals.

Six dog species have been determined to be natives of Japan. They are all members of the Spitz family of dogs with thick fur and pointed ears, but their origins, attributes, and personalities are all unique. Here are photos of each.

Native dog of Japan, Kishu

There is another dog breed that originated in Japan, though it is not native in the same sense as the other breeds above. That is the Japanese Chin.

There are various theories about how and when the Japanese Chin first made its way to Japan, though most think its ancestor originated in China. They have long been favorites of Japanese nobility, and breeding by them helped Japanese Chins develop the characteristics seen today. Besides black and white, they also come in various muted hues of red and white, and some are even tricolored. Most dogs have two types of hair, an overcoat and an undercoat. Japanese Chins lack an undercoat.

Japanese Chins are small dogs, measuring 10 inches at the withers (shoulder). They make good lap and companion dogs. They are very intelligent and can be taught to perform tricks. Like cats, they wash and wipe their faces with their paws and like to rest on high surfaces. They are friendly and do well in new situations. This makes them good therapy dogs.

The photo below of Japanese Chin puppies is here because they wouldn't let me say no.

Artwork

Japanese Lion Dogs

Though called dogs, Japanese Lion Dogs are 1) not dogs, they're statues, and 2) based on what Japanese artists thought lions looked like from reports. Pairs of them are used as guardian figures in the entrances of shrines, temples, and other sacred places. These figures date from the Kamakura Period (1185 – 1333). Note that the mouth of one is open and the other is closed. This is always the case with these figures.

Itō Jakuchū (1716 – 1800)

Jakuchū frequently painted traditional Japanese subjects. He was especially enamored of chickens and other birds. He often experimented with perspective and other modern stylistic elements. His print of 100 Dogs was executed in 1799.

Ogata Gekkō (1859 – 1920)

Gekkō was an entirely self-taught artist. He won numerous prizes and was one of the earliest Japanese artists to win international recognition. His Dog Resting Under a Plum Tree was produced in 1900.

Ohara Koson (1877 – 1945)

Koson was a prominent member of the shin-hanga movement to restore traditional Japanese subjects, techniques and values to Japanese print artwork. His Japanese Chin Dog and Bush Warbler or Nightingale was produced in the 1930s.