{"product_id":"scroll-pair-monkeys-grasping-for-the-moon-ー本多-天城-猿猴圖","title":"Scroll Pair, Monkeys Grasping for the Moon ー本多 天城 “猿猴圖”","description":"\u003cp\u003eApes reach for the unobtainable moon o this pair of scrolls in the neo-Kano style by Honda Tenjo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Enko-zu (Monkeys). Ink on paper in a green silk border patterned with vines extended with rough beige silk and terminating in fine rose-wood rollers. The image of monkeys reaching for the moon, or trying to grasp its reflection in water, is a deeply layered motif in East Asian art, appearing in Chinese, Japanese, and Zen traditions. It carries meanings ranging from Buddhist teachings on illusion to playful observations of human folly. Artists appreciated the subject because it allowed several levels of meaning: a charming depiction of animals, a humorous moral tale, a Buddhist allegory and a meditation on perception and reality.  The subject could therefore appeal simultaneously to monks, scholars, and ordinary viewers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHonda Tenjō (1867–1946) was a Japanese painter of the Meiji and Shōwa periods, born in Edo. His given name was Yūsuke. He entered the studio of the renowned painter Kanō Hōgai in 1885 and, together with Okakura Shūsui, Oka Fuhō, and Takaya Shōtetsu, came to be known as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Hōgai’s disciples. He won an award at the Kangakai Exhibition in 1886 and, following Hōgai’s death in 1888, entered the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, graduating from its Japanese Painting Department in 1893. From 1896 to 1901 he served as an assistant professor at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts). During this period he also received numerous distinctions at the Japan Painting Association exhibitions and the National Industrial Expositions, winning bronze medals at the second and third Japan Painting Competitive Exhibitions in 1897. During the 1898 dispute at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, he signed the resignation petition but ultimately remained and continued teaching until 1901. Honda later became a member of the Nichigetsu-kai and received commendations at both the Fifth National Industrial Exposition in 1903 and the Tokyo Industrial Exposition in 1907. In 1912 he joined with Kanō Tadanobu and others to establish the Kanō-kai, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Kanō tradition. Honda remained an important figure in the continuation of classical Japanese painting traditions into the modern era.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Honda Tenjo","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50917819646199,"sku":"F177","price":180300.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/7472\/3063\/files\/F177.jpg?v=1784537567","url":"https:\/\/kuramonzen.com\/ja\/products\/scroll-pair-monkeys-grasping-for-the-moon-%e3%83%bc%e6%9c%ac%e5%a4%9a-%e5%a4%a9%e5%9f%8e-%e7%8c%bf%e7%8c%b4%e5%9c%96","provider":"Kura Monzen Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}