Description

The Ten Pleasures of Tea, ink on paper in a paper boarder with bamboo rollers befitting the rustic scene. Likely an image of the great poet and tea master, Bassho. Titled Charakujutoku (The Ten Pleasures of Tea). The image signed Kanzan, the calligraphy Kunsen.

Yamada Kanzan (Nagoya, 1856-1918) studied under Kosone Kendo and was a renowned literati and Seal Carver. He studied painting directly under Wu Changshuo in China and excelled at not only his trade of seal carving but also poetry, pottery, calligraphy, and painting. He was an associate of Prime Minister Ito Hirofumi and worked tirelessly for the restoration of Shaolin Temple in China.

Author Oshima Kinsen (1862-1943) was also born in Nagoya and studied under Tsunekawa Tokoku. He was a renowned calligraphist and served as head of the central Japan Calligraphy League (Chubu Nihon Shodo Renmei) and was instrumental to the founding of several other organizations very influential in his lifetime.

Dimensions: 12 1/2″ wide x 74″ long