{"product_id":"antique-japanese-hanging-scroll-fighting-cock-chrysanthemum-kacho-ga-nihonga-signed-keibun-maruyama-shijo-school","title":"Antique Japanese Hanging Scroll — Fighting Cock \u0026 Chrysanthemum — Kacho-ga Nihonga — Signed Keibun — Maruyama-Shijō School","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis antique Japanese kakemono presents one of the great subjects of East Asian \u003cbr\u003epainting - the rooster among chrysanthemums - rendered with a technical sophistication that \u003cbr\u003eimmediately distinguishes it from decorative work. The bird is a Japanese Shamo , \u003cbr\u003ethe ancient fighting cock brought to Japan from Siam in the Edo period (1603–1868), known \u003cbr\u003efor its proud bearing and dramatic plumage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery element of this composition has been built for maximum visual impact within the \u003cbr\u003ediscipline of kacho-ga - Japan's centuries-old tradition of flower-and-bird painting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗜𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬 \u0026amp; 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn classical Chinese and Japanese thought, the rooster embodies five virtues:\u003cbr\u003e文 (bun) - culture, literacy (the crest resembles a scholar's cap)\u003cbr\u003e武 (bu) - martial valor (the spurs are weapons)\u003cbr\u003e勇 (yū) - courage (he faces opponents without retreat)\u003cbr\u003e仁 (jin) - benevolence (he calls others to share food he finds)\u003cbr\u003e信 (shin) - faithfulness (he crows at dawn without fail)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is why the rooster subject appears across Japanese art from the Muromachi period \u003cbr\u003e(1336–1573) to the modern era - not as a farmyard scene, but as a moral portrait.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe chrysanthemum ( kiku) alongside him carries its own weight: Japan's Imperial \u003cbr\u003eflower, symbol of longevity, perseverance, and noble refinement. The pairing of \u003cbr\u003erooster and kiku is one of the Four Seasons Bird compositions (四季花鳥) that \u003cbr\u003eorganized Japanese decorative and fine art programs for four centuries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗧𝗘𝗖𝗛𝗡𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘 \u0026amp; 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe technical execution is exceptional across multiple dimensions:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Mokkotsu ( \"boneless\"): the white breast feathers are painted directly with \u003cbr\u003e  pigment - no ink outline - requiring absolute control of water and pigment load. \u003cbr\u003e  A single hesitation produces a visible mark. There is none here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Haboku: the long black tail feathers are rendered in sweeping single-stroke \u003cbr\u003e  passages - wet ink dragged across the surface in one motion, creating the sense \u003cbr\u003e  of movement and weight simultaneously\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- Iwa-enogu (岩絵具, mineral pigments): the scarlet comb and turquoise wing-flash \u003cbr\u003e  are painted in traditional ground mineral pigments — the same materials used in \u003cbr\u003e  Heian-period Buddhist paintings — which retain their intensity across centuries\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e- The background handling - kincha warm gold paper - creates natural depth \u003cbr\u003e  without painted background, a mastery of negative space (ma, 間)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe work is signed 景文 (Keibun) with a square red seal - a brush name that honors \u003cbr\u003ethe great Matsumura Keibun (松村景文, 1779–1843), master of kacho-ga in the \u003cbr\u003eMaruyama-Shijō school (円山四条派) and celebrated precisely for this subject and \u003cbr\u003ethese techniques. Whether this is a direct school successor or a later artist working \u003cbr\u003ein profound admiration of that tradition, the technical command is evident and the \u003cbr\u003elineage is clear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEstimated period: Meiji late period to Taishō era (c. 1900–1930).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗨𝗬𝗔𝗠𝗔-𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗝Ō 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Maruyama-Shijō school (円山四条派) was the dominant school of Kyoto painting \u003cbr\u003efrom the late 18th century onward - founded by Maruyama Ōkyo (円山応挙, 1733–1795), \u003cbr\u003ewho revolutionized Japanese painting by combining direct observation of nature with \u003cbr\u003ethe decorative grace of classical Japanese traditions. Matsumura Keibun was his \u003cbr\u003espiritual grandson in the school - the supreme specialist in kacho-ga - whose work \u003cbr\u003eis held in the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum, and major private \u003cbr\u003ecollections worldwide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA scroll in this tradition and at this level of execution represents serious, \u003cbr\u003emuseum-adjacent collecting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e𝗠𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 \u0026amp; 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMounted in formal hon-hyōgu with deep navy brocade featuring cloud-and-dragon \u003cbr\u003e( unryū) motif - one of the most formal and prestigious mounting patterns in the \u003cbr\u003eJapanese hyōsō tradition, historically associated with high-value paintings and \u003cbr\u003etemple treasuries. The inner wave-pattern gold border strip is intact.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good for period. Paper shows appropriate age toning (kincha ground). \u003cbr\u003ePigments vivid and stable. Some minor creasing visible consistent with age.\u003cbr\u003eMounting intact. A work that has been preserved with care.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Chikoyaki","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45147355349071,"sku":"CKY-SCR-005-KCHG-ONDX-452","price":250.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0667\/6588\/1423\/files\/IMG_E1219_result.jpg?v=1777291560","url":"https:\/\/chikoyaki.com\/products\/antique-japanese-hanging-scroll-fighting-cock-chrysanthemum-kacho-ga-nihonga-signed-keibun-maruyama-shijo-school","provider":"Chikoyaki","version":"1.0","type":"link"}