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Calligraphy with Willow and Swallows
by Ikkyū Sōjun
About the Artwork
The famed Buddhist monk Ikkyū is best remembered for his calligraphy. Calligraphic conventions of his time called for brushwork that did not vary much in style from character to character. However, as Ikkyū’s lines progress, his brushwork wanders between standard script and a sort of shorthand, marked by an uneven distribution of ink and a reduction of the characters to only the most necessary strokes. Ikkyū’s direct communication of emotion via brushwork became characteristic of the works produced by monks affiliated with the temple Daitokuji later in the Edo period (1615–1868).
Inscriptions
How many days has it rid itself of the crow’s cloth? It knows not!/ Lovely is its body so nimble and neat./ Neither men of wealth, courtly position, or power can come close to the unfettered, noble swallow!/ With the coming of spring, it seems to be flying about, dancing around the grass hut of the foolish Priest. signed: Unkasō Isshi Tōkai jun Ikkyū shi ga ippitsu; outer box inscribed: Ikkyū Ōshō Enshi-zu Jigasan; inner box side lid inscribed: Showa 50 (1975), November by Tayama Honan with kao; Inner box side lid inscribed: Ikkyū Ōshō Bokuseki
Provenance
?-2015: George Gund III [1937-2013], bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art 2015-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Ink Paintings and Ash-Glazed Ceramics: Medieval Calligraphy, Painting, and Ceramic Art from Japan and Korea. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 19-May 28, 2000). Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 2-July 9, 2018).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Ikkyū Sōjun (Japanese, 1394–1481)
- Date
- 1400s
- Medium
- hanging scroll, ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Overall: 104 x 34.8 cm (40 15/16 x 13 11/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- Japanese Art
- Credit line
- Gift from the Collection of George Gund III
- Accession no.
- 2015.463
More by Ikkyū Sōjun 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-00010086
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