The Sound of One Hand Knocking: Kano Sansetsu’s Solitary Encounters

If hearts are in harmony, do we have to travel for a meeting of minds to take place? Matthew McKelway retraces the paths of two such “meetings,” legendary for never having taking place, but depicted, nevertheless, by Kano Sansetsu (1590–1651) on a pair of folding screens. Thanks to McKelway’s research, the screens are now titled “A Visit to Li Ning’s Secluded Dwelling and Wang Ziyou Visiting Dai Andao.”

Sansetsu, head of the Kano school of painters in 17th-century Kyoto, is remembered for his boldly individualistic pictorial style and mastery of an immense range of subjects based on close study of history and classical literature. These remarkable screens embody Sansetsu’s peculiar visual and thematic inclinations. Why did Sansetsu choose to celebrate these episodes of reclusive eccentricity? What led him to pair these two stories? And why should such a work have been created in the old imperial capital of Kyoto during the early years of the new Tokugawa shogunal regime, headquartered in the burgeoning eastern city of Edo?

Professor McKelway’s presentation is followed by a response from Professor Yukio Lippit, co-curator of the Painting Edo exhibition, and a moderated conversation with curator Rachel Saunders. This lecture is part of a series of virtual conversations exploring themes and highlights of the exhibition “Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection” and is co-sponsored by the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University.

TAKE A CLOSER LOOK:

Kano Sansetsu, Japanese, "A Visit to Li Ning’s Secluded Dwelling and Wang Ziyou Visiting Dai Andao," Japanese Edo period, mid-17th century. Pair of six-panel folding screens; ink and gold on paper. Promised gift of Robert S. and Betsy G. Feinberg, TL41799.12. https://hvrd.art/o/340537.

Take a virtual tour of “Painting Edo” via Google Arts & Culture: https://artsandculture.google.com/par....

Discover more about the special exhibition “Painting Edo: Japanese Art from the Feinberg Collection:" https://www.harvardartmuseums.org/pai....

SPEAKERS:
Matthew McKelway, Takeo and Itsuko Atsumi Professor of Japanese Art History and Director of the Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art, Columbia University;
Yukio Lippit, Jeffrey T. Chambers and Andrea Okamura Professor of History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University;
Rachel Saunders (moderator), Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Curator of Asian Art, Harvard Art Museums.

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This event was co-sponsored by the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University. Programming related to the special exhibition "Painting Edo" is supported by the M. Victor Leventritt Lecture Series Endowment Fund, Harvard University’s Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, and the Department of History of Art and Architecture Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund for Art and Architecture.

Recorded April 14, 2021. © President and Fellows of Harvard College. For questions related to permission for commercial use of this video, please contact the Department of Digital Imaging and Visual Resources at [email protected].