Kanō Eishun (1769–1816), Wild Goose beneath the Moon

This is a Japanese ink-wash hanging scroll by Kanō Eishun, depicting a solitary wild goose flying beneath a crescent moon above a mist-covered grove. The bird is rendered with remarkably precise and delicate brushwork: individual feathers are carefully articulated, while subtle gradations of ink convey the volume and movement of its body in flight.

In striking contrast, the trees and vegetation below are painted with broad, rough, and spontaneous strokes. Wet ink, dry brush, and freely applied washes merge into a dense atmospheric mass, while the moon is created largely through reserve and surrounding ink wash. The contrast between the meticulously observed bird and the boldly abbreviated landscape gives the composition both refinement and expressive energy.

These two approaches derive from different but closely related aspects of the Chinese Song painting tradition: the detailed naturalism of academic bird-and-flower painting and the freer, calligraphic handling associated with ink landscape and literati art. Eishun unites them within a distinctly Japanese composition of moonlight, mist, movement, and silence.

Kanō Eishun was a painter of the Kanō school and a pupil of Kanō Eijō. 

Signed “Kanō Nuidono-no-suke Fujiwara Eishun hitsu” (狩野縫殿助藤原永俊筆), with two seals.

{Image size: 43 x 17 3/8 inches}. {Scroll size: 72 x 22 1/4 inches}.

This work will be featured in the special exhibition Time Well Wasted: Five Hundred Years of Japanese Ink Painting, held at Michaan’s Auctions from August 16 to 21, 2026, and will be published in the accompanying book of the same title by Jingwei Zeng.

Horizontal creasing, surface dirt, discoloration, areas of loss along the right side. For condition report and additional photos, please contact the Asian Art Department.