A massive Taisho period painting of the full moon rising behind a pine tree, signed and sealed Gyokka (Gyokuka) and dated Taisho 6 (1917). Dark ink on silk mounted in a green silk border, the scroll is 113 x 238 cm (44-1/2 x 93-3/4 inches). There are some marks and staining around the area of the moon in the painting.
Tahira Gyokka (Gyokuka) was born in 1878 in Shimane Prefecture, given name Zenzō. At the age of twenty, he was adopted into the Nagahisamachi Enzato family by Heijōjirō Taira. In 1899 he began working as a teacher at Ōda Elementary and Higher School. The following year, he moved to Tokyo to pursue a career in painting and became a pupil of Kawabata Gyokushō. In 1900, he exhibited Autumn Scenery at Dangyō Gorge at the Japan Art Association Exhibition and won an award. Later, in 1907 he received a commendation for his work Dangi-kyō in Oki shown at the Tokyo Exposition. He continued to exhibit in various major art exhibitions, receiving numerous accolades throughout his career. Tragically, he passed away at the young age of 45 in 1923.
