Gold & Ink · Pair of six-panel folding screens · Studio of Tawaraya Sōtatsu, 17th century
Moon and Autumn Grasses
This black moon was once silver.
The Work
Delicate autumn grasses sway on a gold-flecked ground; a large half-moon peers in at the edge. A screen from Sōtatsu's studio.
Look Closer
The moon was painted in silver, which has darkened with age. Now black, it looks like a moon floating in the night.
The Artist
Sōtatsu is said to have run a Kyoto shop called Tawaraya, painting fans and paper. Even his birth and death dates are uncertain.
The Artist
He often worked with the calligrapher Hon'ami Kōetsu, painting under his poems. His best-known work is the Wind God and Thunder God screens.
Japan at the Time
In the early Edo period, war was over, and Kyoto turned back to classical literature and the beauty of the old court.
Culture & Values
Moon-viewing on autumn nights dates back to the Heian court. A moon rising from tall grasses recalls the Musashino plain.
Meanwhile, in the World
In Sōtatsu's lifetime, in 1609, Galileo turned his telescope to the moon and found mountains and valleys.
Afterward
The work of Sōtatsu's studio passed to Kōrin and then to Hōitsu, and became the starting point of Rinpa.
Listen while you look
This work stays on screen for about ten minutes in the full hour of Gold & Ink, with Moon Over Autumn Grasses and Bellflowers At Dusk.
Take this print home
This work is in the Gold & Ink wallpaper pack — all six prints, sized for phone and desktop.
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