A long verse accompanies this expressive landscape forming a pair of scrolls by early 20th century artist Fukuda Kodojin signed with his alternate name Saisho Sanjin. Ink on paper, the scrolls are 44 x 206 cm (17-1/4 x 81 inches). They have been completely remounted in brown, tsumugi silk and feature solid rosewood rollers enclosed in a period wooden box.
Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944) an eccentric 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 self taught, 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 known 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. For more on his life see the book Old Taoist, or Unexplored Avenues of Japanese Painting. Twenty five paintings by the artist formed a private exhibition (from Gitter-Yelen) at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2000, and he is part of the Hakutakuan collection among many others.
