Kaiho Yusho (1533–1615), "Two Geese among Reeds", Ink on paper, hanging scroll.

Kaiho Yusho was a leading painter of the Azuchi–Momoyama period. Born into a warrior family, he entered religious life and developed a distinctive artistic language informed by Kano-school painting and the Chinese ink tradition. Alongside his richly colored decorative works, he excelled in monochrome painting, using abbreviated forms, expressive washes, and expansive empty space. His affinity with Liang Kai’s reduced-brush manner is particularly evident in the economy and directness of his brushwork.

This scroll depicts two geese resting among reeds and low vegetation. One extends its neck and opens its beak as though calling across the water, while the other lowers its head toward the ground. Their contrasting gestures establish a quiet interplay between movement and repose. Broad, moist washes give substance to their rounded bodies, while concentrated dark strokes articulate the necks, wings, tails, and beaks. Rather than describing each feather, selected marks suggest the layered plumage, allowing the birds’ forms to emerge through tonal variation.

The surrounding vegetation is rendered with similar restraint. Long reed leaves sweep through the composition in fluid, calligraphic curves, while scattered dots and tapering strokes evoke grasses along the water’s edge. These fragments suggest an entire marsh without defining its boundaries. The extensive unpainted paper becomes water, mist, air, and distance, giving resonance to the raised goose’s call. Combining assured brushwork with a spacious, asymmetrical composition, the painting expresses the contemplative qualities of the Zen ink tradition and the transformation of Chinese pictorial models within Japanese painting.

Seals: Kaiho, Yusho
{Image size: 34 1/4 × 15 1/2 inches (87 × 39.4 cm)}.
{Overall size: 66 × 16 3/4 inches (167.6 × 42.5 cm)}.

This painting will be published in Time Well Wasted: Five Hundred Years of Japanese Ink Painting, by Jingwei Zeng, published by Michaan’s Auctions and Center for Asian Arts.

For condition report and additional photos, please contact the Asian Art Department.