Sumi and color on paper. This hanging scroll by Fukuda Kodojin is a fine example of the Japanese nan-ga style of painting. Compared with other works by Kodojin, this piece displays a distinctively vibrant and richly toned color palate. Kodojin, or “Old Taoist” is remembered today—apart from his great skill as a poet and painter—as being one of the last in a line of great literati artists in Japan. While he lived a quiet and reflective life of devoted study, his poetry and paintings tended to be infused with dramatic imagery and unconventional stylistic forms. [Sold]

Based on a classical tale adapted into a popular Kabuki performance in late Edo, the story of the Fuji Musume or “Wisteria Maiden” is an often employed motif in Japanese art. In the story, the Wisteria Maiden is depicted in a painting holding a wisteria branch, until one day she becomes smitten with a young man passing by and steps out of the painting in an effort to capture his attention.

Sumi, color, and and gofun on gilded paper. This piece done in the early Edo period features two rabbits frolicking in a sunny floral pasture. The flowers in this composition are particularly striking and emanate a soft radiance due to the use of a gofun treatment in which a white pigment made from high quality oyster shells is applied to the canvas. A classic naturalistic landscape, the rabbits in the foreground are rendered in such a way as to suggest movement while the hills floating in the background add extra dimensions to the composition. [Sold]

Seated in meditation with open and compassionate heart, this bodhisattva is on a spiritual journey, postponing his own salvation in order to remain on earth to help others achieve enlightenment. In contrast to some images of the Japanese Bodhisattva (Bosatsu), often depicted as austere and inward looking, here, Kimura depicts the Bodhisattva as playful, carefree, and decidedly ornate. The inverted image of white contrast dye on black silk also makes for a striking composition.