In this expansive vertical landscape, Kodojin envisions the recluse wandering freely through the mountains, the world reduced to the rhythm of ink, breath, and inner stillness. Sheer fantastical peaks rise like columns of mist, conveyed through pared-down brushwork that prefers expressive texture over naturalistic detail. Nestled among the heights is a distant hermitage—difficult to reach, and more an ideal than a destination—while at the base of the cliff a lone figure moves along a winding path, staff in hand, absorbed in the contemplative act of walking. The accompanying poem speaks of a mind so attuned to its surroundings that “self” dissolves: venturing out without aim, following the water’s edge and the shade of the trees, and allowing poems to arise of their own accord. Kodojin’s title phrase, “tilling clouds,” is a classical metaphor for spiritual cultivation without striving—an art of dwelling within nature rather than mastering it. The painting thus becomes a visual corollary to the verse: landscape not as setting, but as inner terrain, where the reclusive ideal is renewed in gesture and ink.
A possible translation of the poems is:
Tilling the clouds, delight arises
until even the self is forgotten.
I step beyond the gate and walk as the heart inclines—
along the streams and beneath the forest shade—
where poems come into being of their own accord.
Ink on silk, it has been fully remounted in fine pale green patterned silk the color of late summer grass with faux ivory rollers. It is 46.7 x 178.5 cm (18-1/2 x 70-1/4 inches) and in fine condition. This scroll was exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in 2023, published P. 49 No. 7 The Art and Life of Fukuda Kodojin. The wooden box is annotated by collector and longtime Japan resident the late Richard Lane.
Fukuda Kodojin (1865-1944) an eccentric self taught 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.
