Lofty Sages

In an effort to emulate more closely their Chinese counterparts, Japanese literati or Nanga painters of the 19th century systematized brushwork methods and rigidly defined models according to Chinese standards. As a noted member of the Kyoto school of Nanga, Hine Taizan methodically built forms and created spatial arrangements that consciously reflected an orthodox style.

Although conventional in his painting, in life Taizan was notoriously arrogant and boorish. A pupil of Nukina Kaioku, Taizan later claimed that he had been the teacher, not the student of Kaioku. In another incident, Taizan became inebriated while attending a gathering of artist at the Imperial court and loudly began to sing vulgar ko-uta songs, ending the night by "drawing" a summary painting of a dragon in the snow.

In contrast, a much more sedate, if not serene, gathering of scholars is depicted in this hanging scroll. Among the Chinese literati, outdoor gatherings had long been fashionable. At these events, learned peers would engage in conversation, inscribe rocks with auspicious calligraphy, or view paintings and antiquities. The idealized notion of the "landscape" usually depicted in scholarly painting attains a new level of interaction as scholars are shown directly engaging with nature. In East Asia, humans compose a vital, harmonious component of the natural world that intellectuals, as the progenitors of this outlook, would feel as comfortable outdoors as in their studios. The inscription reads:

Pure gathering of scholars in June [cold?],

At Manzanro, painted in Autumn.

[signed] Hi Shonen