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What is this painting about?
This painting depicts a famous place in China, the Yueyang Tower, known in Japan as the
Gakuyoro. The tower was built in the Tang dynasty (618–906) on a site known as the Western
Gate of Yuezhou city in southern China. The tower overlooks Lake Dongting (a famous
lake in China often represented in Chinese painting). Mountains and the Yangzi river can
be seen in the distance. We are led into the painting by a scholar and attendants walking up
the path to the tower. Other scholars are in the tower at a party. Some of them lean over the
balcony enjoying the view and watching an approaching boat with anticipation. Other boats
under sail recede into the distance.
Who was Aoki Shukuya?
Aoki Shukuya was born in Kyoto. He was proud of his family’s claim to be descendants of a
mythological Korean king—one of the three seals on this painting reads: “Descendant of the
Korean King Yo Sho-o.” Shukuya studied with the famous literati painter, Ike Taiga. (Taiga
was married to the artist Ike Gyokuran, whose painting is reproduced in slide number 11.)
After Taiga died, Shukuya with other students converted Taiga’s Kyoto home into a memorial
hall to their departed teacher, and named it Taiga-do, or Hall of Taiga. Shukuya became
the caretaker of Taiga-do and spent his remaining years there. The inscription on this painting
reads: “Painted at Taiga-do in the third month of 1802 by Yo Shukuya.” This was
Shukuya’s last year alive.
Did Shukuya ever visit China and the Gakuyoro Tower?
No. Then how did he paint this scene? It was very common for Japanese artists to depict
landscapes they had never seen, even those in Japan. They used literary descriptions, and
took inspiration from other artists’ renditions of the place. The beauty of this tower was
famous in China, and its fame spread to Japan. The Chinese scholar Fan Zhongyuan wrote
an essay about it, titled the Record of Yueyang Tower, in which he said: “The magnificent
view is enhanced by Lake Dongting, and the lake’s rippling water seems to expand boundlessly.”
Shukuya probably saw a painting entitled “A Grand View of Yueyang Tower” by a
Chinese artist from Suzhou, Shao Zhenxian (active 1600s), reproduced on the following
page, which may be used as a handout.
Asian Art Museum Education Department