National Poetry Month: Sōtatsu Tawaraya and Hon'ami Koetsu

I’ve posted previously about how poetry can be a visual art form when in the hands of a great calligrapher. I am not ashamed to repeat that assertion with this beautiful example of calligraphy combined with gorgeous painting.

Painting by Tawaraya Sōtatsu (died 1643, Japan) and calligraphy by Hon’ami Koetsu (1558–1637, Japan), Calligraphy of a Poem. Ink and gold leaf on paper mounted on paper as a hanging scroll, poem card (shikishi): 17 7⁄16" x 6 ⅝" (18.9 x 16.8 cm); mount overall 34 ¾" x 11 ⅛" (88.3 x 28.3 cm). Image © 2025 Brooklyn Museum. (BMA-5441)

The gold-leaf and ink leaves, which depict a pine forest behind the calligraphy and bamboo in the “frame” around the poem, leave the impression of a stencil. Tawaraya Sōtatsu’s flora are subdued enough to be an understated background for the poem by Hon’ami Koetsu. The poem, written in the cursive Japanese sōsho script, reads:

Tea helps dispel worries and cares,

Leading us to easiness, free from the pursuit of worldly success,

Tea, like a day lily, helps us forget,

Leaving us totally relaxed.

(via Brooklyn Museum object label)

The style and subject matter of this work match one another in the loose calligraphy, evocative elements of nature, and relaxed nature of the poem. This aesthetic was known as “tea taste,” which valued spontaneous creation with natural and accidental beauty. Tea taste was part of the Zen Buddhist philosophy of spontaneous enlightenment and appreciating unguarded moments in life.

The Kanō School dominated painting during the Edo period (1615–1868). It began with Kanō Masanobu (1434–1530), the first in a line of painters who controlled painting for the ruling shogun and military noble classes for centuries. The Kanō School was known for working in the Chinese-inspired monochromatic painting style that emphasized landscape in transparent ink washes. During the Edo period, yamato-e was revived by the Kanō School. This style, developed during the Heian period (794–1185), emphasized bright colors, decorative surfaces, and extensive use of gold leaf.

Sōtatsu was one of the brilliant innovators of Japanese painting during the early Edo period. He was most likely born in Kyoto. Nothing is known of his training, but his work attests to the fact that he was fluent in the current styles, including the yamato-e and the monochromatic ink style of the Nan-ga School—the so-called Southern School, influenced by Chinese Southern Song dynasty (1127–1280) painting. 

Kōetsu, born in Kyoto, was a celebrated painter, calligrapher, ceramic artist, landscape architect, Noh theater enthusiast, and devotee of the tea ceremony. Born into a family of sword polishers and appraisers for the daimyo (samurai) families, Kōetsu studied under the famous tea master Furuta Oribe (1544–1615). In 1616, Kōetsu and Sōtatsu, who were related by marriage, founded a painting school in northern Kyoto that primarily served the nobility. This school would inspire the formation of the Rinpa group of artists.

Correlations to Davis Programs: Explorations in Art Kindergarten 2E: Lesson 8; Explorations in Art 2E Grade 2: 4.8; Explorations in Art 2E Grade 3: 3.8; Explorations in Art 2E Grade 5: 5.2, 5.3; Explorations in Art 2E Grade 6: 5.5; Experience Art: p. 98; A Personal Journey 2E: 4.2; Exploring Visual Design 4E: p. 15; The Visual Experience 4E: p. 98, 6.1; Davis Collections: Japanese Art