“Egret on an Oar”

Soga Shōhaku

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Artist Name: Soga Shōhaku
Title: “Egret on an Oar”
Dimensions: painting：112.0×48.9㎝
full length：200.8×59.9㎝
Medium: ink on paper
Year: The inscription is dated 1792
Description: From a boat moored upon the surface of the lake, a single oar extends outward, and at its tip an egret perches quietly. This is *“Egret on an Oar”* by Soga Shōhaku. The body of the egret is expressed by sweeping ink around the form and leaving the interior unpainted, allowing the white of the paper to define the figure. This technique is one Shōhaku frequently employed in his ink bird-and-flower paintings, skillfully using tonal gradation with minimal brushwork to achieve a striking effect.

At the upper section of the composition appears an inscription by Keishū Dōrin. The text derives from a verse associated with the chapter on the Chan master Yantou Quanhuo in Volume Seven of the *Wudeng Huiyuan* (*Compendium of the Five Lamps*).

The inscriber, Keishū Dōrin (1714–1794), was a mid-Edo period Rinzai Zen monk born in Kyoto. He was also known by the art names Gankyoku, Kaiun, and Kinugasa Dōjin, among others. He entered the priesthood under Ungai at Enkei-an of Tenryū-ji in Saga (present-day Jizō-in). He later studied Zen under Daidō Bunka of Hōjō-ji in Tanba and eventually succeeded to Enkei-an. He became the 221st abbot of Tenryū-ji.

Soga Shōhaku (1730–1781) was a mid-Edo period painter born into a Kyoto merchant family known as Tanbaya or Tango-ya. His family name was Miura, and his given name was Teruo. In addition to Shōhaku, he used several art names, including Dasokken, Kodō, and Kishinsai. He is said to have studied under Takada Keisuke of the Kyoto Kanō lineage. Around the ages of twenty-nine to thirty and again in his mid-thirties, he traveled in the Ise region, where many of his works remain today. Claiming descent from the Soga school, Shōhaku frequently depicted traditional subjects such as Chinese historical and literary figures. Influenced by Keisuke’s bold and unconventional style, he transformed it into a highly personal mode of expression. His works are characterized by their eccentricity and by a powerful emphasis on subjectivity and individuality.