Willow Bridge and Waterwheel

Original Language Title柳橋水車図

CultureJapanese

DateMomoyama period (1573-1615)

MediumSix-fold screen; ink and color over gold-foil ground on paper

DimensionsOverall: 67 1/2 × 133 1/4 inches (171.45 × 338.46 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number58-53/1

On View

Not on view

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionOne of a pair of six-fold screensExhibition History

Exhibition History

Japanese Decorative Style, Cleveland Museum, Cleveland, OH, August 30—October 15, 1961; Chicago Art Institute, Chicago, IL.

Gallery Label

Uji River Bridge, also called Willow Bridge, is the most important ancient bridge linking the two historical cities Kyoto and Nara. This river bridge is also the setting for the final scene in the Japanese classic The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari). It became an extremely popular theme during the Momoyama period.

In the painting, the bridge crossing the river is the dominant image of the whole composition, while a waning moon hangs in the sky and a golden waterwheel quietly turns in the water. The undulating waves and showers of green leaves of the willow trees create a rhythmic movement. In the foreground, the silhouette-like willow trees and gesturing branches play against the imposing arching bridge in the background. The audacious use of gold and the opulent design of the composition display a dazzling and luxurious beauty. The Momoyama contribution not only symbolizes the vital energy of its time, but also becomes an inspiration for future artists.

Provenance

Purchase –

With Mr. Kaoru Fujioka by 1958;

Purchased from Mr. Kaoru Fujioka by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1958.

Published References

Ross E. Taggart, George L. McKenna, and Marc F. Wilson, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. II, Art of the Orient. (Kansas City, MO: The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973) 104.

Roger Ward and Patricia J. Fidler, eds., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection (New York: Hudson Hills Press, in association with The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1993) 359.

Deborah Emont Scott, ed., The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: A Handbook of the Collection, 7th ed. (Kansas City, MO: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008) 387, fig. 28.

Sherman E. Lee, Japanese Decorative Style, exh. cat. (New York: Abrams, 1961) no. 58.

Sherman Lee, History of Eastern Art (New York: 1964) 465, fig. 618.

Junkichi Mayuyama, Japanese Art in the West (Tokyo: Mayuyama & Co. 1966) 170-171, pl. 201 A,B.

“Report From America (West Coast)”, Oriental Art, vol. 3, no. 10A,B, (Autumn, 1991): 165, fig.9a,b.

Murase Miyeko, Masterpieces of Japanese Screen Painting (New York: George Braziller, 1990) 97-102.

Takeda Tsuneo, ed., Keibutsuga : Shiki keibutsu in Nihon byōbu-e shūsei, vol. 9 (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1979) fig. 21-24, 50-59.

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