On the Laws of Japanese Painting Part 3

The artists of the Tosa school used a paper various kinds called _tori no ko,_ into the composition of which egg-sh.e.l.ls entered. This paper was a special product of Ichi Zen.

The Kano artists used both _tori no ko_ and a paper made from the mulberry plant, also a product of Ichi Zen, and known as _hosho._ For ordinary tracing a paper called TENGU JO is used. In Okyo's time, Chinese paper made from rice-plant leaves came into vogue. It is manufactured in large sheets and is called TOs.h.i.+. It is a light straw color, and is very responsive to the brush stroke, except when it "catches cold," as the j.a.panese say. It should be kept in a dry place.

The Tosa artists used paper almost to the exclusion of silk. The Kano school largely employed silk for their paintings. Okyo also usually painted on silk.

j.a.panese artists seldom outline their work. In painting on silk, a rough sketch in _sumi_ is sometimes placed under the silk for guidance.

Outlining on paper is done with straight willow twigs of charcoal, called _yaki sumi,_ easily erased by brus.h.i.+ng with a feather.

There are strict, and when once understood, reasonable and helpful laws for the use of the brush (YOHITSU), the use of _sumi_ (YOBOKU) and the use of water-colors (SESSHOKU). These laws reach from what seems merely the mechanics of painting into the highest ethics of j.a.panese art.

The law of YO HITSU requires a free and skilful handling of the brush, always with strict attention to the stroke, whether dot, line or ma.s.s is to be made; the brush must not touch the silk or paper before reflection has determined what the stroke or dot is to express. Neither negligence nor indifference is tolerated.

An artist, be he ever so skilful, is cautioned not to feel entirely satisfied with his use of the brush, as it is never perfect and is always susceptible of improvement. The brush is the handmaid of the artist's soul and must be responsive to his inspiration. The student is warned to be as much on his guard against carelessness when handling the brush as if he were a swordsman standing ready to attack his enemy or to defend his own life; and this is the reason: Everything in art conspires to prevent success. The softness of the brush requires the stroke to be light and rapid and the touch delicate. The brush, when dipped first into the water, may absorb too much or not enough, and the _sumi_ or ink taken on the brush may blot or refuse to spread or flow upon the material, or it may spread in the wrong direction. The Chinese paper (TOs.h.i.+) which is employed in ordinary art work may be so affected by the atmosphere as to refuse to respond, and the brush stroke must be regulated accordingly.

All such matters have to be considered when the brush is being used, and if the spirit of the artist be not alert, the result is failure. (IT TEN ICHI BOKU _ni_ CHIU _o su beki.)_

Vehicle of the subtle sentiment to be expressed in form, the brush must be so fas.h.i.+oned as to receive and transmit the vibrations of the artist's inner self. Much care, much thought and skill have been expended in the manufacture of the brush.

In China, the art of writing preceded painting, and the first brushes made were writing brushes, and the more writing developed into a wonderful art, the more attention was bestowed upon the materials composing the writing brush. Such brushes were originally made with rabbit hair, round which was wrapped the hair of deer and sheep, and the handles were mulberry stems. Later on, as Chinese characters became more complex and writing more scientific, the brushes were most carefully made of fox and rabbit hair, with handles of ivory, and they were kept in gold and jeweled boxes.

Officials were enjoined to write all public doc.u.ments with brushes having red lacquer handles, red being a positive or male (YO) color. Ogis.h.i.+, the greatest of the Chinese writers, used for his brushes the feelers from around the rat's nose and hairs taken from the beak of the kingfisher.

In j.a.pan, hair of the deer, badger, rabbit, sheep, squirrel, and wild horse all enter into the manufacture of the artist's brush, which is made to order, long or short, soft or strong, stiff or pliable. For laying on color, the hair of the badger is preferred. The sizes and shapes of brushes used differ according to the subject to be painted. There are brushes for flowers and birds, human beings, landscapes, lines of the garments, lines of the face, for laying on color, for shading, et cetera.

A distinguis.h.i.+ng feature in j.a.panese painting is the strength of the brush stroke, technically called _fude no chikara_ or _fude no ikioi._ When representing an object suggesting strength, such, for instance, as a rocky cliff, the beak or talons of a bird, the tiger's claws, or the limbs and branches of a tree, the moment the brush is applied the sentiment of strength must be invoked and felt throughout the artist's system and imparted through his arm and hand to the brush, and so transmitted into the object painted; and this nervous current must be continuous and of equal intensity while the work proceeds. If the tree's limbs or branches in a painting by a Kano artist be examined, it will astonish any one to perceive the vital force that has been infused into them. Even the smallest twigs appear filled with the power of growth-all the result of _fude no chikara._ Indeed, when this principle is understood, and in the light of it the trees of many of the Italian and French artists are critically viewed, they appear flabby, lifeless, and as though they had been done with a feather. They lack that vigor which is attained only by _fude no chikara,_ or brush strength.

In writing Chinese characters in the REI SHO manner this same principle is carefully inculcated. The characters must be executed with the feeling of their being carved on stone or engraved on steel-such must be the force transmitted through the arm and hand to the brush. Thus executed the writings seem imbued with living strength.

It is related of Chinanpin, the great Chinese painter, that an art student having applied to him for instruction, he painted an orchid plant and told the student to copy it. The student did so to his own satisfaction, but the master told him he was far away from what was most essential. Again and again, during several months, the orchid was reproduced, each time an improvement on the previous effort, but never meeting with the master's approval. Finally Chinanpin explained as follows: The long, blade-like leaves of the orchid may droop toward the earth but they all long to point to the sky, and this tendency is called cloud-longing (BO UN) in art.

When, therefore, the tip of the long slender leaf is reached by the brush the artist must feel that the same is longing to point to the clouds.

Thus painted, the true spirit and living force _(kokoromochi)_ of the plant are preserved.

Kubota recommended to art students and artists to a practice with lines which is excellent for acquiring and retaining firmness and freedom of the arm, with steady and continuous strength in the stroke. With a brush held strictly perpendicular to the paper horizontal lines are painted, first from right to left, the entire width of the TOs.h.i.+ or other paper, each line with equal thickness and unwavering intensity of power throughout its entire length. The thickness of the line will depend upon the amount of hair in the brush that is allowed to touch the paper; if only the tip of the brush be used, the line will be slender or thin; but, whether a broad band or a delicate tracing, it must be uniform throughout and filled with living force. Next, the lines are painted from left to right in the same way and with the same close attention to uniform thickness and continuous flow of nervous strength from start to finish. Then, the increasingly difficult task is to paint them from top to bottom of the TOs.h.i.+, and finally, most difficult and most important of all these exercises, the parallel lines are traced from bottom to top of the paper. The thinner the line the more difficult it is to execute, because of the tendency of the hand to tremble. Indeed, the difficulty is supreme. Let any one who is interested try this; it is an exercise for the most expert. Such lines resemble the _sons files_ on the violin, where a continuous sustained tone of equal intensity is produced by drawing the bow from heel to tip so slowly over the strings that it hardly moves. Practicing lines in the way indicated gives steadiness and strength, qualities in demand at every instant in j.a.panese art. Observe a j.a.panese artist paint the young branch of a plum tree shooting from the trunk. The new year's growth starting, it may be, from the bottom of the TOs.h.i.+ will be projected to the top.

Examine it carefully and it will be found to conform to that principle of _jude no chikara_ which transfers a living force into the branch. I have seen European artists in j.a.pan vainly try offhand to produce such effects; but these depend on long and patient practice.

A j.a.panese artist will frequently ignore the boundaries of the paper upon which he paints by beginning his stroke upon the MOSEN and continuing it upon the paper-or beginning it upon the paper and projecting it upon the MOSEN. This produces the sentiment or impression of great strength of stroke. It animates the work. And in this energetic kind of painting, if drops of _sumi_ accidentally fall from the brush upon the painting they are regarded as giving additional energy to it. Similarly, if the stroke on the trunk or branch of a tree shows many thin hair lines where the intention was that the line should be solid, this also is regarded as an additional evidence of stroke energy and is always highly prized.

The same principle applies in the art of Chinese writing; but this effect must not be the result of calculation-it must be what in art is called s.h.i.+ ZEN, meaning spontaneous.

In painting the hair of monkeys, bears and the like, the pointed brush is flattened and spread out _(wari fude)_ so that each stroke of the same will reproduce numberless thin lines, corresponding to the hairs of the animal. Sosen thus painted. In modern times Kimpo _(Plate V)_ is justly renowned for such work.

Many artists become wonderfully expert in the use of the flat brush, from one to four inches wide, called _hake,_ by means of which instantaneous effects such as rain, rocks, mountain chains and snow scenes are secured.

Some artists acquire a special reputation for skill in the use of the _hake._

The brush should be often and thoroughly rinsed during the time that it is used and washed and dried when not employed. In Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo there are famous manufacturers of artists' brushes, and names of makers such as Nis.h.i.+mura, Sugiyama, Hakkado, Onkyodo and Kiukyodo are familiar to all the artists of the country.

The use of _sumi_ (YOBOKU) is the really distinguis.h.i.+ng feature of j.a.panese painting. Not only is this black color _(sumi)_ used in all water color work, but it is frequently the only color employed; and a painting thus executed, according to the laws of j.a.panese art, is called _sumi e_ and is regarded as the highest test of the artist's skill.

Colors can cheat the eye _(damakasu)_ but _sumi_ never can; it proclaims the master and exposes the tyro.

The terms "study in black and white," "India ink drawing" and the like, since all are only makes.h.i.+ft translations, are misleading. The Chinese term "BOKUGWA" is the exact equivalent of _sumi e_ and both mean and describe the same production. _Sumi e_ is not an "ink picture," since no ink is used in its production. Ink is the very opposite of _sumi_ both in its composition and effect. Ink is an acid and fluid. _Sumi_ is a solid made from the soot obtained by burning certain plants (for the best results _juncus communis,_ bull rush, or the _sessamen orientalis),_ combined with glue from deer horn. This is molded into a black cake which, drying thoroughly if kept in ashes, improves with age. In much of the good _sumi_ crimson _(beni)_ is added for the sheen, and musk perfume _(Jako)_ is introduced for antiseptic purposes. When a dead finish or surface _(tsuya o kes.h.i.+)_ is desired, as, for instance, where the female coiffure is to be painted and a l.u.s.terless ground is needed for contrast with the s.h.i.+ning strands of the hair, a little white pulverized oyster sh.e.l.l, called GO FUN, is mixed, with the _sumi._ Commercial India ink resembles _sumi_ in appearance, but is very inferior to it in quality.

The methods of _sumi_ manufacture are carefully guarded secrets. China during the Ming dynasty, three centuries ago, produced the best _sumi,_ although China _sumi_ (TOBOKU) employed twelve centuries past shows both in writing and in painting as distinctly and brilliantly today as though it were but recently manufactured. Nara, near Kyoto, was the birthplace of j.a.panese _sumi,_ and the house of k.u.magai _(Kyukyodo)_ for centuries has had its manufacturers in that city. In Tokyo a distinguished maker, whose _sumi_ many of the artists there prefer, is Baisen. He has devoted fifty years of his life to the study and compounding of this precious article. He possesses some great secrets of manufacture which may die with him. In Okyo's time there was a dark blue _sumi_ called AI EN BOKU but the art and secret of its manufacture are lost.

In using _sumi_ the cake is moistened and rubbed on a slab called _suzuri,_ producing a semi-fluid. The well-cleaned brush is dipped first into clear water and then into the prepared _sumi._ When the _sumi_ is taken on the brush it should be used without delay; otherwise it will mingle with the water of the brush and destroy the desired balance between the water and the _sumi._ For careful work the _sumi_ is first transferred on the brush from the _suzuri_ to a white saucer, where it is tested. It is a singular fact that the color of _sumi_ will differ according to the manner in which it is rubbed upon the stone. The best results are obtained when a young maiden is employed for the purpose, her strength being just suitable.

It is very important while painting with _sumi_ to renew its strength frequently by fresh applications of the cake to the slab. The color and richness of _sumi_ left upon the slab soon fade; and though when used this may not be apparent, when the _sumi_ dries on the paper or silk its weakness is speedily perceived.

By the dexterous use of _sumi_ colors may be successfully suggested, materials apparently reproduced and by what is termed BOKUSHOKU, or the brush-stroke play of light and shade, the very rays of the sun may be imprisoned within the four corners of a picture. Artists are readily recognized in their work by their manner of using or laying on _sumi._ The color, the sheen, the shadings and the flow of the ink enable us even to determine the disposition or state of mind of the artist at the time of painting, so sensitive, so responsive is _sumi_ to the mood of the artist using it. There is much of engaging interest in connection with this subject. Artists become most difficult to satisfy on the subject of the various kinds of _sumi,_ which differ as much in their special qualities as the tones of celebrated violins. It is interesting to observe how different the color or richness of the same _sumi_ becomes according to the varying skill with which it is applied.

The mineral character of the _suzuri_ has also much to do with the production of the best and richest black tones.

The most valuable stone for _suzuri_ is known throughout the entire oriental world as TAN KEI and is found in the mountain of f.u.ka in China.

This stone has gold streaks through it, with small dots called bird's eyes. The water which flows from f.u.ka mountain is blue. The color of the rock is violet. A favorite color for the _suzuri_ (in Chinese called KEN) is lion's liver. Formerly much ceremony was observed in mining for this stone and sheep and cattle were offered in sacrifice, else it was believed that the stone would be struck by a thunderbolt and reduced to ashes in the hands of its possessor. The _suzuri_ is also made in China from river sediment fas.h.i.+oned and baked. Still another method is to make the _suzuri_ from paper and the varnish of the lacquer tree. Such are called paper _suzuri_ (s.h.i.+ KEN). In Thibet _suzuri_ are made from the bamboo root. In j.a.pan the best stones for _suzuri_ are found near Hiros.h.i.+ma in Kiushu, the grain being hard and fine.

The skilful use of water colors is called SESSHOKU. It is more difficult to paint with _sumi_ alone than use of water to paint with the aid of colors, which can hide defects never to be concealed in a _sumi e,_ where painting over _sumi_ a second time is disastrous. j.a.panese painters as a rule are sparing of colors, the slightest amount used discreetly and with restraint generally sufficing. Many artists have not the color sense or dislike color and seldom use it. Kubota often declared he hoped to live until he might feel justified in discarding color and employing _sumi_ alone for any and all effects in painting.

There are eight different ways of painting in color. I will enumerate them, with their technical, descriptive terms:

In the best form of color painting (GOKU ZAI s.h.i.+KI) _(Plate IX)_ the color is most carefully laid on, being applied three times or oftener if necessary. On account of these repeated coats this form is called TAI CHAKU SHOKU. This style of painting is reserved for temples, gold screens, palace ceilings and the like. Tosa and _Yamato e_ painters generally followed this manner.

The next best method of coloring (CHU ZAI s.h.i.+KI) _(Plate X)_ is termed CHAKU SHOKU, or the ordinary application of color. The Kano and s.h.i.+jo schools use this method extensively, as did also the _Ukiyo e_ painters.

The light water-color method, called TAN SAI _(Plate XI)_, is employed in the ordinary style of painting _kakemono_ and is much used by the Okyo school.

The most interesting form of painting, technically called BOKKOTSU _(Plate XII)_, is that in which all outlines are suppressed and _sumi_ or color is used for the ma.s.ses. Another j.a.panese term for the same is _tsuketate._

[Tree Squirrel, by Mochizuki Kimpo. Plate V.]

Tree Squirrel, by Mochizuki Kimpo. Plate V.

The method of shading, called GOSO _(Plate XIII)_, invented by a Chinese artist, G.o.dos.h.i.+, who lived one thousand years ago, consists in applying dark brown color or light _sumi_ wash over the _sumi_ lines. This style was much employed by Kano painters and for art printing.

The light reddish-brown color, technically called SENPO SHOKU _(Plate XIV)_, is mostly used in printing pictures in book form.

Another form similarly used is called HAKUBYO _(Plate XV)_ or white pattern, no color being employed.

Lastly, there is the _sumi_ picture or _sumi e_ _(Plate XVI)_, technically called SUIBOKU,-to which reference has already been made-where _sumi_ only is employed, black being regarded as a color by j.a.panese artists.

A well-known method by which the autumnal tints of forest leaves are produced is to take up with the brush one after another and in the following order these colors: Yellow-green _(ki iro),_ brown (TAI SHA), red (SHU), crimson _(beni),_ and last, and on the very tip of the brush, _sumi._ The brush thus charged and dexterously applied gives a charming autumn effect, the colors shading into each other as in nature.

There are five parent colors in j.a.panese art: parent colors Blue (SEI), yellow (AU), black (koku), white (BYAKU), combinations and red (SEKI).

These in combination (CHO GO) originate other colors as follows: Blue and yellow produce green _(midori);_ blue and black, dark blue _(ai nezumi);_ blue and white, sky-blue _(sora iro);_ blue and red, purple _(murasaki)_; yellow and black, dark green _(unguisu cha)_; yellow and red, orange _(kaba);_ black and red, brown _(tobiiro);_ black and combinations white, gray _(nezumiiro)._ These secondary colors in combination produce other tones and shades required. Powdered gold and silver, and crimson made from the saffron plant are also employed. The colors, excepting yellow, are prepared for use by mixing them with light glue upon a saucer. With yellow, water alone is used. In addition to all the foregoing there are other expensive colors used in careful work and known as mineral earths _(iwamono)._ They are blue (GUNJO), dark or Prussian blue (KONJO), light bluish-green (GUNROKU), green (ROKUSHO), light green (BYAKUGUN), pea green (CHA-ROKU SHO) and light red (SANGO MATSU).

The use of primary colors in a painting in proximity to secondary ones originated by them is color to be avoided, as both lose by such contrast; and when a color-scheme fails to give satisfaction it will usually be found that this cardinal principle of harmony, called _iro no kubari,_ has been disregarded by the artist. Color in art is the dress, the apparel in which the work is clad. It must be suitably combined, restrained, and attract no undue attention _(medatsunai)._ True color sense is a special gift.

[Chapter 4 Head-Band: The pattern (moyo) known as bamboo and the swelling sparrow (take nif.u.kura susume). The parts of the bird are amusingly conventionalized-in the Korin manner. The word f.u.kura written in Chinese contains the lucky character f.u.ku (happiness).]