Memorandum on the Northern Expedition
Sold – no longer available
This piece was a handmade one-of-a-kind work. It cannot be reordered and will never exist in this form again. The page stays online as part of our archive.
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Details about the sold piece
- Height 189 cm
- Width 50 cm
- Item Type Kakemono
- Jikusaki Sculpture
- Material Honshi Paper
- Period of Creation Shôwa (1926–1989)
- Technique Hand-Painted
- Unique Work Yes
No longer available
Description
A calligraphic transcription runs in densely arranged columns over the entire height of this hanging scroll. The brushwork is fluid and even, the individual characters clearly legible yet written with palpable vigor, testifying to great practice and concentration on the part of the writing hand.
In content, this is the Memorandum on the Northern Expedition, once composed as a request for permission to conduct a military campaign to the north – a classical text from Chinese literary history that has been prized in Japan for centuries as a model for calligraphic exercises and hanging scrolls, and that speaks of duty and loyalty.
The calligraphy is written on paper and mounted in an elegant, floral-patterned gold brocade, lending the work a solemn setting. Created in the Shôwa period and fitted with roller ends made of plastic, this kakemono is an impressive example of the close connection between literature and the art of writing in East Asia.
