Haiga: Takebe Socho and the Haiku-Painting Tradition.

Haiga are abbreviated paintings inspired by haiku (poems composed in three lines of 5-7-5 syllables). The term haiga literally means "haiku painting": "hai" comes from haiku and "ga" is the word for painting. Haiku poetry was firmly established in the 17th century when its first great master, Matsuo Basho, made it his goal to elevate the form to a highly artistic, inventive genre. Haiku and haiga emphasize directness of expression and unpretentious observations of everyday things.

In a haiga the poem does not simply explain the painting nor does the painting illustrate the poem. Instead each adds layers of meaning to the other. Works by some of the earliest haiga masters in this exhibition-Yosa Buson, Matsumura Goshun, Inoue Shiro, and Kobayashi Issa-show how a few strokes of the brush were all that is needed to convey the suggestion of the subject, the season, or the emotions they arouse.

Another section of the exhibition features a significant group of works by Takebe Socho (1761-1814) to demonstrate this poet-artist's range of production. When painting haiga Socho used a few simple and relaxed brushstrokes and minimal color. His woodblock prints and non-haiga poem-paintings are more detailed. Their inclusion here demonstrates some of the differences between haiga and other artistic forms.

Haiga are presented in several different formats, including hanging scrolls, handscrolls, and folding screens. Hanging scrolls, suspended on cords, are an especially popular format in Japanese art because of their decorative potential and their capacity to be changed and stored easily. Whereas silk became the preferred medium for formal paintings, haiga artists, seeking greater informality and simplicity, tended to use modestly priced paper, as seen in the majority of works here.

Mountings are also integral to the artworks. Scroll mountings are constructed to enhance the effect of the painting, as well as provide for its protection when it is rolled up and stored. Each scroll is backed several times with paper, and then silks or special papers are glued above, below, and to the sides of the painting, with a wooden dowel adding weight on the bottom. In the case of haiga, scrolls would be displayed in the season appropriate to their poems and images, but in this exhibition viewers can enjoy the entire yearly cycle of nature as depicted in words and images by many of Japan's leading poet-artists of the past four centuries.

This text and the exhibition labels were taken from materials developed as part of an art history course on Japanese art and culture taught by Dr. Addiss. Students researched and collectively wrote this brochure essay, and individually wrote the exhibition's labels.