Ike Taiga (1723–1776) and his wife Tokuyama Gyokuran (1727–1784) were preeminent artists in eighteenth-century Japan. This landmark book—the only comprehensive survey available in English—focuses on the lives and times of these artists and accompanied the first-ever exhibition devoted to their work in the United States.

Considered by contemporaries to be an eccentric marvel, indifferent to worldly preoccupations, Taiga is best known as an exponent of the so-called Nanga school of Chinese literati painting. He was hugely prolific and experimental, working in an impressive range of styles, techniques, compositions, and subjects to produce over 1,000 calligraphies and paintings, and many large-scale fusuma (sliding doors) and screens. While not as well known as her husband, Gyokuran was a significant artist and a well-regarded poet of Japanese verse. Taiga wrote poetry in Chinese, and translated poems by both artists are featured prominently in this volume.

The Kano lineage of painters—the most important in Japan—was established in the late 15th century by Kano Masanobu (1434–1530) and continued for more than 400 years, until the early 20th century. Originally limited to successive generations of the Kano family, it soon developed into a school of professional artists. Ink and Gold is the first and most comprehensive book published outside of Japan to address the Kano painters. This important volume focuses on the large-scale screens and sliding doors that were designed for the residences of powerful rulers, together with smaller works such as scrolls, albums, and fans. These works—for sites including shogunate residences, Zen temples, teahouses, and homes of wealthy merchants—demonstrate the range of styles that Kano artists employed to suit the tastes of their varied patrons. Essays by leading scholars address the wide range of Kano motifs and styles and also consider the particular influence of Kano Tan’yū (1602–1674). A compendium of Kano artists’ seals, a type of resource published here for the first time, provides an important reference, as does an appendix of images from the most significant album by Tan’yū.

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