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Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang
About the Artwork
Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers can be traced to 11th-century Chinese poems and paintings, the depiction of which had also become popular among Korean and Japanese painters. Xiao-Xiang refers to the region in present-day Hunan province where the Xiao and Xiang rivers converge. Few painters of the Eight Views had in fact seen the scenery; rather, they were trying to portray in ink and wash the lyrical qualities of dim light and a misty atmosphere typical of that region. Each of the poetic titles suggests a time of day, a season, or specific atmospheric conditions—subjects that challenged the abilities of the most talented artists. In this miniature painting (shukuzu) of the Muromachi period, Japanese Zen monk and painter Shukei Sesson depicted all eight views featured in Chinese prototypes: Wild Geese Descending to Sandbar; Returning Sails Off a Distant Coast; Mountain Market in Clearing Mist; River and Sky in Evening Snow; Autumn Moon over Dongting Lake; Night Rain on the Xiao and Xiang; Evening Bell from Mist-Shrouded Temple; and Fishing Village in Evening Glow.
Inscriptions
Signature and seal of artist at end of painting.
Provenance
(Setsu Gatodo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, sold to John D. Rockefeller III) ? before 1978: John D. Rockefeller III [1906–1978], New York, NY ?–1979: Dr. Sherman E. Lee [1918–2008], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1979–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 13-March 9, 1980). Visions of Landscape: East and West. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 17-March 21, 1982). Autumn Grasses: Arts of the Momoyama Period (1573-1615). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 4-December 11, 1988). The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Sesson Shūkei (Japanese, c. 1492–c. 1577)
- Date
- 1500s
- Medium
- handscroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 15.7 x 289.5 cm (6 3/16 x 114 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Credit line
- Gift of Sherman E. Lee in memory of John D. Rockefeller, 3rd
- Accession no.
- 1979.77
More by Sesson Shūkei in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009853
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