THE RAINY SEASON (Nishimura Kingyo)

N.1 painting on shikishi
Year: 2020
Condition: very good
Size: 24 x 27 cm

SOLD

Description

Teru teru bozu, teru bozu, / tomorrow, make the weather nice for me. / Like a heavenly dream once upon a time. / If it clears, I’ll give you a gold bell (てるてる坊主、てる坊主 / あした天気にしておくれ / いつかの夢の空のよに / 晴れたら金の鈴あげよ). The lyrics of a famous children’s song, written by the poet Asahara Rokuro (浅原六朗), seem to echo in the background of this lovely painting on shikishi (色紙) board entitled “Tsuyu” (梅雨), that is “The Rainy Season”.

A cat’s sleep is watched over by a teru teru bozu (てるてる坊主) “shine shine monk”, a doll of Japanese folklore that, since the Edo period (江戸時代), has been used as an amulet to ward off rain. Outside the window the hydrangea flowers (アジサイ) that, during the rainy season, try to mitigate with their beauty the melancholy deriving from the lack of the sun.

The work, made by Nishimura Kingyo (西村欣魚), an appreciated artist born in Nara (奈良市) in 1964 and graduated from the Kyoto City University of Arts (京都市立芸術大学), is in very good condition.