Bamboo in the Wind
風竹図
At the beginning of the 18th century in Nagasaki, new Chinese styles, including that of Shen Nan-pin (Jp. Shin Nan-pin), were introduced from China and became popular under the collective term, “the Nagasaki school” (Nagasaki-ha). It is believed that the uninhibited style of Kakutei (1722-85), who was at the center of this new movement, had a significant influence on Jakuchū.Jakuchū studied both old and new Chinese styles and his willingness to experiment may be seen in the painstaking gradations and quick brush strokes he employed in this painting. The style in which he wrote his signature, which read Shinen-kan Jakuchū Sei, is the earliest in which he used the artistic name “Jakuchū”, beginning in his late 30s.