The moon rises high, piercing the misty, cloud laden autumn sky to illuminate a raft of ducks returning to Japan from their summer in Siberia sheltered in the lee of a river bank under the comforting boughs of gnarled trees. Pigment on silk in a superb border of gray silk the color of evening-sky patterned with ripples with an ichimonji of water-skippers on pale white and solid ivory rollers. The scroll is 56 x 210 cm (22 x 83 inches) and in excellent condition. It comes enclosed in the original signed wooden box dated 1917 (Taisho 6).
Mizutani Honen (1879-1928) was born in Nagoya, and studied under Nakajima Yunen as well as Ishikawa Yurin. He was especially noted for his natural depictions of Kacho (bird and flower) paintings and was strongly influenced by the style of Yamamoto Baitsu. His work was selected for exhibition nationally at the Bunten among other important expositions.
