Whiskers & Wings · Hanging scroll · Itō Jakuchū, 1792
Hen and Rooster with Grapevine
The painter who kept dozens of chickens to study them.
The Work
A rooster stands on one foot on a thick grapevine, tail held high, while a white hen looks up at him. A hanging scroll Jakuchū painted at about seventy-seven.
Look Closer
Every feather, the red comb, even the spurs are precise — while the grape leaves are quick washes of ink. Detail against looseness.
The Artist
Jakuchū was born in 1716, eldest son of a grocery wholesaler in Kyoto's Nishiki market. He ran the business without enthusiasm and handed it to his brother at forty.
The Artist
He is said to have kept dozens of chickens in his garden to study them. His thirty-scroll Colorful Realm of Living Beings is now a National Treasure.
Japan at the Time
The great Kyoto fire of 1788 burned most of the city, including his home. In old age he reportedly traded paintings for rice, and signed himself "Tobeian."
Culture & Values
The rooster calls the dawn. In the myth of the sun goddess hiding in a cave, roosters were made to crow to bring back the light. Chickens still roam Ise Shrine.
Meanwhile, in the World
In 1792 France abolished the monarchy and declared a republic. That same year, the Russian envoy Laxman arrived at Nemuro in Japan.
Afterward
Jakuchū was long overlooked. A 2000 exhibition in Kyoto set off a boom, and in 2016 people waited hours in line to see his work in Tokyo.
Listen while you look
Ten quiet minutes with this work alone, with Rooster At Dawn and Under The Grapevine — or keep going through the full hour of Whiskers & Wings.
Take this print home
This work is in the Whiskers & Wings wallpaper pack — all six prints, sized for phone and desktop.
Everything from Whiskers & Wings
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