A travelling stick and bundle meander nonchalantly up the hill formed by a verse by important Edo period poet Emori Gekkyo (1745-1824). Performed with ink on precious satin it is mounted in a silk border with paper extensions and features wooden rollers. The scroll is 52 x 122 cm (48 x 20-1/2 inches) in completely original condition and comes in an old annotated wooden box.
Emori Gekkyo was one of the leading students of Yosa Buson and a prominent haikai poet of the late 18th century. Along with Nakagyo Doryu and Higashino Michihiko the three were considered the greatest poets of their generation. Born in Kyoto, Emori Gekkyo studied kokugaku under Arakida Hisao and Murata Shunmon, and entered the haikai world as a disciple of Yosa Buson. His talent quickly emerged; in 1776 he was included in an anthology with Takai Kitō and received high praise from both Buson and Kitō for his poetic refinement. Following Buson’s death, Gekkyo rose as a leading haikai master in the Kinai region. In 1790, he was appointed a right-side master in the prestigious Nijō family school and was honored with the title “restorer of haikai excellence,” reportedly offering a patronage of 30 ryō. Though later forced into temporary seclusion due to scandal, he continued to exert influence across Settsu, Tanba, and Wakasa. Initially shaped by Buson’s elevated style, his poetry later adapted to the more popular modes of the Kansei-Bunka period, though it remained distinct from the mainstream noted for his command of tsukeai (linked-verse composition) and refined haibun in classical diction. He is buried at Konpuku-ji Temple in Kyoto.
