Mt. Fuji Seen beyond Pine Trees

Beyond a row of pine trees that appear to be moving in a lively fashion, a white Mount Fuji stands out clearly against a dark sky, displaying a majestic presence. A native of Osaka, Yosa Buson (1716–1783) moved to Edo (present-day Tokyo) and studied haikai (seventeen-syllable verse) before eventually settling in Kyoto and beginning to paint in earnest from the age of 36. Buson, who studied Chinese Ming- and Qing-dynasty painting, is not only regarded as having perfected Japanese literati painting together with Ike no Taiga, but also helped perfect haikai painting. Produced towards the end of his life, this magnificent work is one of the so-called “san yokomono,” or “three major horizontal hanging scrolls,” painted by Buson around this time, the others being Snowclad Houses in the Night (National Treasure) and The Peaks of Mount Emei (Important Cultural Property). Various comparisons are woven into the concise motifs of Mount Fuji and the pine trees in this fine example of Buson’s haikai-like expression.