A tanuki walks sheepishly in the moonlight, sake bottle and ledger in hand, off to obtain the evenings allotment of alcohol on this sweeping image by Suzuki Hyakurei. Ink no paper, it has been fully restored in olive silk with ebony rollers and is in excellent condition. It measures 84.5 x 123.5 cm (33-1/4 x 48-1/2 inches) and comes enclosed in a modern kiri-wood storage box.
Sakurai Hyakurei apprenticed under the great 19th century artist Suzuki Hyakunen, from whom he received his name. He was active from the late Edo to Meiji period, aned was an important member of the Jounsha art association in Kyoto. The Jounsha was an association of Kyoto painters active from the late Edo through the Meiji period, whose activities were centered around the tsukinami-e (monthly painting gatherings). One of the earliest known activities of the group was its participation in the Second Kyoto Exposition of 1873. Held within the Kyoto Imperial Palace over a 90-day period from March 13 to June 10, the exposition provided Jounsha painters with a platform to demonstrate bokugi (playful ink sketches), which they inscribed upon silk, paper, or unglazed pottery vessels prepared by local ceramicists. Records show that fifty Jounsha painters took part in this endeavor including Hyakurei. The group played a vital role in the Kyoto art world of the Meiji era, nurturing many painters who went on to prominence. Among them was Uemura Shōen, the first woman to receive the Order of Culture.
