Excursion Into the Mountains; an austere yet dynamic vision that fuses poetic sensibility with daring abstraction by Fukuda Kodōjin executed in bold, free-flowing ink dated September 1914. This was exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2023 and is published in the book The Art and Life of Fukuda Kodojin, P. 73 No. 17. The composition builds through layered dots, splashes, and calligraphic brushwork, allowing the forms of pine, rock, and pavilion to emerge as if from a half-remembered dream. The spontaneity of his marks belies deep discipline; their rhythm conveys the pulse of nature itself. The poem inscribed at the upper left anchors the image in the meditative world of the Bunjin (literati). It speaks of transient light, shifting weather, and the serene renewal of the heart in mountain solitude—an echo of the Song- and Yuan-dynasty masters whom Kodōjin revered, yet expressed in his own unorthodox modern hand. A single figure appears below, walking amid the pines toward a rustic retreat nestled in the mountain folds. This quiet gesture transforms the painting from pure abstraction into lived philosophy: the solitary wayfarer becomes a stand-in for the artist himself, journeying inward toward a life of simplicity and cultivation. Ink on paper in a beige silk border with white piping terminating in dark wood rollers and enclosed in an old wooden box. It is 61 x 198 cm (24 x 78 inches) and in fine condition.
The Poem reads:
Setting sunlight darkens Heaven's color;
Cold mountains, sounds of singing birds.
Sighing, soughing, red leaves tumble;
Curling, rising, white clouds emerge.
Alone I go forth, feelings without limit:
Autumns seem still purer as I grow old.
And now I see the bright moon rising—
This is the time to visit a man of the Way.
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 Kodōjin (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.
