GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Konoe Nobutada (1565-1614), an important Edo period courtier and master calligrapher, is said to have painted Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane, 845-903 CE) every morning as a devotional practice. There are many extant iterations of Nobutada's Tenjin, with varying inscriptions.
The story of Tenjin was widely known during the Edo period and continues to be relevant in Japan today. Sugawara Machinaze was a 9th-century scholar banished to exile in Kyushu. After his death, plagues visited Japan until the daughter of a Shinto priest in Kyoto had a vision which revealed that it was Machinaze's wrathful spirit causing the calamities to befall the nation, and that only a shrine in his memory would appease him. The Tenjin Shrine was built in Kyoto, and Machinaze eventually became an object of devotion as a Shinto deity of learning and scholarship.
Nobutada's portrayals of Tenjin reflect the spare Zenga style. The artist captures the figure in a few strokes, but conveys the strong character of the scholar.
Drawn from
- Fumiko E. Cranston and William J. Rathbun, "Kitano Tenjin Wearing a Chinese Robe," in
Song of the Brush: Japanese Paintings from the Sanso Collection, edited by John M. Rosenfeld. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1979. cat. 25.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Konoe Nobutada: ULAN: 500320711
Cultures
Geography
Japan (nation): TGN: 1000120
Process/materials
ink: AAT: 300015012
paper (fiber product): AAT: 300014109
Historical periods
Edo (Japanese period): AAT: 300106643
Individuals
Sugawara Michizane
Subject terms
calligraphy (visual works): AAT: 300266660
Zen (Japanese Buddhism): AAT: 300022006
Zenga: AAT: 300310625
Shinto: AAT: 300022082
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1973: Harry C. Nail, Jr., Palo Alto California.
1973: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, anonymous gift, purchased from above. [1]
The main source for this provenance is the letter from Merrill C. Rueppel of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, to Harry C. Nail, Jr., dated March 13, 1973, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Record Object File. Exceptions are noted.
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Birmingham Museum of Art~See another example of a Tenjin ink painting.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1973.10
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General Description
Konoe Nobutada (1565-1614), an important Edo period courtier and master calligrapher, is said to have painted Tenjin (Sugawara no Michizane, 845-903 CE) every morning as a devotional practice. There are many extant iterations of Nobutada's Tenjin, with varying inscriptions.
The story of Tenjin was widely known during the Edo period and continues to be relevant in Japan today. Sugawara Machinaze was a 9th-century scholar banished to exile in Kyushu. After his death, plagues visited Japan until the daughter of a Shinto priest in Kyoto had a vision which revealed that it was Machinaze's wrathful spirit causing the calamities to befall the nation, and that only a shrine in his memory would appease him. The Tenjin Shrine was built in Kyoto, and Machinaze eventually became an object of devotion as a Shinto deity of learning and scholarship.
Nobutada's portrayals of Tenjin reflect the spare Zenga style. The artist captures the figure in a few strokes, but conveys the strong character of the scholar.
Drawn from
- Fumiko E. Cranston and William J. Rathbun, "Kitano Tenjin Wearing a Chinese Robe," in
Song of the Brush: Japanese Paintings from the Sanso Collection, edited by John M. Rosenfeld. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1979. cat. 25.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Konoe Nobutada: ULAN: 500320711
Cultures
Geography
Japan (nation): TGN: 1000120
Process/materials
ink: AAT: 300015012
paper (fiber product): AAT: 300014109
Historical periods
Edo (Japanese period): AAT: 300106643
Individuals
Sugawara Michizane
Subject terms
calligraphy (visual works): AAT: 300266660
Zen (Japanese Buddhism): AAT: 300022006
Zenga: AAT: 300310625
Shinto: AAT: 300022082
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1973: Harry C. Nail, Jr., Palo Alto California.
1973: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, anonymous gift, purchased from above. [1]
The main source for this provenance is the letter from Merrill C. Rueppel of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, to Harry C. Nail, Jr., dated March 13, 1973, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Record Object File. Exceptions are noted.
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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1973.10
source file
object_notes_3_a-0027.xml.nores