A quintessential work by Fukuda Kodojin dated 1910 exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2023, published P. 55 No. 10 The Art and Life of Fukuda Kodojin. Executed in Kodōjin’s distinctive blend of ink and pale mineral pigment, the composition rises dramatically from a foothill hermitage—two rustic pavilions nestled among tall pines—into a towering vertical world of mist-veiled peaks. His brushwork alternates between fluid washes and sharply calligraphic contour lines, evoking both the structure and evanescence of mountain scenery. While the inscription contains some archaic or idiosyncratic phrasing typical of Kodōjin, it essentially praises the joy of dwelling amid ancient mountains, composing pure verses beneath autumn skies, and savoring wine beneath the moon—a self-portrait of the artist as a mountain recluse and poetic immortal. The composition invites the viewer upward through alternating zones of mist, ink, and silence—an ascent not merely of landscape but of spirit. As in his poetry, Kodōjin transforms solitude into serenity; the painting becomes a meditation on withdrawal from the dusty world and communion with the ineffable purity of nature and verse. This scroll thus stands as a consummate expression of Kodōjin’s Bunjin ideal—the fusion of painting, poetry, and philosophy into a single act of contemplative creation. Ink on silk in a rich cloth border with wooden rollers enclosed in a wooden box. The scroll is 50 x 208 cm (20 x 82 inches) and is in overall fine condition.
The poem reads:
I sit alone, aging among green mountains;
I have no grief, yet hair keeps turning white.
Slanting across my gate, the sun moves toward evening;
I sing at length, pleasing my inner feelings.
The mysterious chrysanthemum suffices for this diner;
I know the purity of those verses of Tao Yuanming!
Far, far beyond a thousand years,
Admiring antiquity, I will pour a glass for him.
Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944) was an eccentric self-taught artist, his status as a poet, calligrapher and literati artist has reached legendary status. Born at a time of great change (4 years before the final fall of the Edo Government), he lived through the westernization of Meiji, Taisho Democracy, the rise of Imperialism and final defeat of the Showa eras. He was part of a small group of artists existing outside conventional circles in pre-war Japan. He moved to a village outside of Kyoto in 1901, where he supported himself and his family by privately tutoring those who wished to learn Chinese-style poetry. Kodojin was simply a scholar. His poetry, painting, and calligraphy all stem from a life-long cultivation of the mind. He was said to have taken the time just before his death to destroy the large portion of his own remaining work, leaving only that which must have met some personal criteria. Kodōjin’s paintings and calligraphy survive mainly in private collections, but significant works can be found in the collections of the British Museum, Freer Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, Honolulu Museum of Art, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, Kumamoto Prefectural Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Museo Kaluz, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, Portland Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, St. Louis Art Museum, Tanabe City Museum of Art and Wakayama Prefectural Museum of Art among others including such well known Private collections as the Cowles Collection, Hakutakuan Collection, Manyoan Collection and Welch Collection. Twenty five paintings by the artist formed a private exhibition (from the Gitter-Yelen collection) at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2000. In recent years, exhibitions such as The Last Master of the Literati Tradition: Fukuda Kodojin (Minneapolis Institute of Art, 2023) have brought renewed attention to his achievement. For more on his life see the book Old Taoist, or Unexplored Avenues of Japanese Painting.
