This Japanese scroll painting from the Meiji period (1868-1912) by Tomioka Tessai (1837-1924) shows a landscape in the "beihou" style, painted with polychrome and sumi ink on paper. It features an inscription, signature and seal by the artist and is mounted in the maru hyoso style using a turquoise to celadon green donsu (non-gold) brocade silk with cloud patterns. Many Nanga to Bunjin (literati) artists have painted landscapes in the style known as "beihou", where the tip of the brush is used to paint dots on the paper to show a forested mountain. This type of landscape is thought to have originated with the literati artists during the Song dynasty (960-1279) in China, with many examples being passed on to Japan in the 15th century. By the 17th up to the 19th century, the literati movement gained popularity and many artists began to develop their own unique styles of literati landscapes. This particular work is believed to have been painted when Tessai was about 30 years old (compared with examples from various exhibition catalogues). The landscape appears to show how a literati or hermit yearns to live in the mountains, away from other other humans, and enjoy nature. The inscription by Tessai states how the water and the mountains seem far in the distance. The scroll comes with a box that was inscribed by Fukaya Kingaku (1849 -1924?) during the winter of 1916. Fukaya Kingaku was known for his connections with many artists in Kyoto during the Meiji period and was a personal friend of Tomioka Tessai. The interesting point of the box inscription is that Kingaku, instead of using the normal characters used to describe an authentication or valuation of a piece, used a character to signify his affinity or attachment to the piece, which might suggest that the painting had been part of Kingaku's collection.
The scroll painting is in very good condition with slight creases in the central to bottom area. The dimensions are 137 x 29.4 cm (length x width).