Imperial Outing

In 1684, the monk artist Gukei moved from Kyoto to Edo, the new political capital of Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate and the site of modern-day Tokyo. The following year, Gukei was appointed goyo eishi or official painter to the Shogunate. The appointment had deep political significance. Gukei was the head of a painting lineage known as Sumiyoshi. Essentially, Sumiyoshi painters practiced a synthetic style called tamatoe or "Japanese painting" that combined traditional Japanese court styles with styles imported from continental Asia. By appointing a practitioner of Japanese style painting, the Shogun had made a conscious choice to move away from Chinese style art to works produced by representatives of native painting traditions.

Gukei’s expertise at small format painting can be seen in this hanging scroll which most likely depicts traditional court life of the Heian period. However, this is far from a finished work. Rather, the lack of color, and the fact that it was painted on reused paper, suggests it is a study. Nonetheless, it still possesses similar themes found in Gukei’s completed works: the ordered tranquility of human activity among annual, seasonal celebration.