Prawns
海老図
Jakuchū skillfully depicts the shells and feelers of two lively prawns using a base of light ink. He also uses a technique called sujime-gaki to create expressive lines on the shells and seaweed. The inscription is by Musen Jōzen, an Ōbaku Zen Priest who served as the head of Jikishi-an Temple in Saga. We know from the inscription’s date (kanoto-mi) that Jakuchū created this painting before 1761 (the eleventh year of the Hōreki era), sometime in his mid-forties.