It is a somewhat old-fashioned image, or maybe something you have seen in a museum.
When you hear the word "Suiboku-ga", you may have this image of "Suiboku".
However, ink painting has a much longer history than oil painting, which developed in the West, and even today there are artists who are active as ink painters.
In this article, we will take a look at Suiboku-ga for beginners.
What is Suiboku-ga?
Characteristics and Attractiveness of Suiboku-ga Works
First of all, what exactly is Suiboku-ga?
Let us introduce some works that make good use of the characteristics of this painting medium.
Sesshu, Huikei cutting arms and legs, 1496
Makisarayu, Kannon sarugaku (Guanyin Monkey and Crane), 1496
Kano Tanyu, Cloud and Dragon
As you can see, these paintings can basically be called monochrome paintings because they use only one color, ink.
Unlike ordinary realistic paintings such as oil paintings, this painting does not depict a fixed light source, but rather depicts the artist's subjective perception or illusion as it is.
This way of painting, which is not bound by the appearance of things, has left several masterpieces in the history of painting.
Tools Needed for Suiboku-ga Painting
Suiboku-ga is basically ink painting done by dissolving sooty "sumi" (ink) in water and painting on Japanese paper.
Many of you may have been exposed to this technique in calligraphy classes when you were students.
Basically, the painting is done using simple materials and tools, which are not so different from those used in calligraphy: ink, water, brush, and paper.
Tips for Suiboku-ga Painting
Suiboku is basically painted with simple tools. Therefore, it is necessary to sharpen one's sense by paying attention to even the smallest differences in the way water is handled and the way the ink changes its behavior depending on the density of the sumi ink.
There is no specific method, but it is certainly most important to enjoy the process.
As long as you keep this in mind, you can use it! Types of Suiboku Techniques
(1) Sanboku method
Put ink on the brush and create a "water to ink" gradation that can be divided into about four types: water, light ink (high percentage of water), medium ink (medium density), and dark ink (pitch black).
When the brush is then laid down on the paper, a beautiful gradation from clear to pitch black can be drawn with a single stroke.
(2) Ink-breaking method
This is a technique in which a brush of a different density is placed over the inked area before it dries.
For example, if light black ink is used first and then dark black ink, the dark black ink will slowly spread to create a unique effect.
3) Hatsuboku-ho
Hatsuboku-ho is a technique to draw mountains, clouds, and rocks from the accidental shapes created by pouring and splashing ink.
Traditionally, the main method was to capture the shape of the object by drawing outlines, but this is a new and innovative technique that breaks with the conventional method.
It is one of the most interesting techniques, but it is essential to have the ability to precisely layer detailed depictions so that the motifs can be seen firmly afterwards.
Landscape with broken ink, Sesshu
4) Tarashikomi
This is a blurring technique in which ink or paint is applied to wet the paper, and before it dries, another shade of ink or paint is placed on top of it to make it bleed.
This technique can be used effectively by using a paper that does not bleed.
History of Suiboku-ga
Suiboku-ga in Ancient China
Suibokuga was originally created in China.
In mainland China, ink was used as early as the Shang dynasty, and paintings using ink existed as early as the Han dynasty.
Some wall paintings of the Han dynasty still exist that were painted with ink lines and pigment coloring.
Establishment of ink painting in the Tang dynasty
In the Tang dynasty, paintings using shades of ink began to be produced. Works from this period are defined as suiboku-ga, or landscape painting, which is a type of landscape painting in China, "especially those painted exclusively with ink.
The technique of "ink-repelling" was invented, in which a large amount of light ink is used to paint a rough outline of the painting, and then darker ink is added to create shading and blurring, or, conversely, a large amount of light and dark ink is added, and the painting is done quickly, as if splashing the ink around, creating shading and blurring.
With the development of the ink-repelling method, suiboku-ga has changed from a genre of landscape painting to a genre of painting.
Early Suiboku-ga in Japan
Full-scale suiboku-ga works did not appear in Japan until the end of the 13th century, nearly four centuries after suiboku-ga originated in China.
Although Japanese ink painting techniques were imported from China, they did not necessarily follow the mainstream Chinese style, but rather followed a path different from that of Chinese ink painting, which was also influenced by the country's unique moral and cultural outlook.
Early Japanese ink painting began with painters and Zen monks playing a central role in its production. In Zen Buddhism, which emphasizes the transmission of the Dharma from master to disciple, there was a demand for paintings such as portraits of Zen monks (chinzo), which were given to disciples to prove that they had inherited the master's Dharma, and images of Zen masters such as Daruma, the founder of the Zen sect.
Cold Mountains, by Kao
Muromachi Suiboku-ga of Japan
The Muromachi period can be described as the heyday of Japanese ink and wash painting.
Shokokuji Temple in Kyoto, a temple of the Ashikaga family, produced painters such as Jyotoshi, Shubun, and Sesshu. Yoshiyama Meicho, a monk of Tofukuji Temple, is said to have produced a wide range of works from Buddhist paintings in dark colors to ink paintings.
Ryo-toshi, Gourd and sweetfish
Zhou Wen, Zhuanhuan glare in light blue, 1445
Sesshu Yang, Landscape in Autumn and Winter
Modern Suiboku-ga
The active ink and wash painters of today's Japan are not to be missed.
Chiho Yamagishi, East Wind
Born in 1988, Chiho Yamagishi completed her graduate studies at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Design, Drawing and Decoration in 2015.
With a proven technique described by Yuji Yamashita, a critic who mainly discusses Japanese art and other art forms, as a "brush native," she produces superbly crafted works that are hard to believe to be the work of a brush.
Yuzumi Fujii, Lotus, 2007
Yuzumi Fujii graduated from the Suzhou University College of Arts in 1984, one of only a few tens of thousands of students in all of mainland China, and immediately became an instructor at the Beijing Fashion Institute in 1985.
In 2012, the philosopher Takeshi Umehara bestowed upon him the pseudonym "Yusen" (湧泉), and he has become a leading figure in the Japanese Suiboku world.
TRiCERA recommends the following Suiboku paintings
Mimicry butterfly chick by W 30.20cm x H 40cm
W 30.20cm x H 40.00cm｜¥10,000
Cat Pounce by Soo Beng Lim Soo Beng Lim
W 27.50cm x H 37.50cm / ¥79,500
Abstract Polka Dot Painting by amini54
W 60.00cm x H 90.00cm / ¥13,200
ENSO by GOSHOW
W 60.60cm x H 62.80cm / ¥180,000
Bamboo branch by Ilana Shechter
W 34.50cm x H 34.50cm / ¥24,300
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