Contemporary artist Tadanori Yokoo revives traditional ‘Hanshan, Shide’ theme

◇ This exhibition, held at the Tokyo National Museum (Ueno Park, Tokyo) in 2023, will reopen at the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art (Kobe, Hyogo Pref.) on May 25, 2024.◇

Tadanori Yokoo: 100 Takes on Hanshan and Shide

May 25 (Sat) – Aug 25 (Sun), 2024

Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art
(Nada Ward, Kobe)

*See outline below for details

Hanshan and Shide (Kanzan and Jittoku in Japanese) were Zen monk-poets of Guoqing-si, a temple on Mt. Tiantai in Tang dynasty China, who trained under Zen master Fenggan (Bukan). In later years, they became legendary for their eccentric ways and detachedness from worldly concerns, which Chan (Zen) Buddhists regarded as keys to achieving the state of enlightenment. Inevitably, the two monks, as a pair, became a recurring theme most typically in Chinese and Japanese ink painting.

In some works, Hanshan (often depicted holding a scroll) and Shide (often shown holding a broom) are venerated as emanations of Monju (Manjushri) and Fugen (Samantabhadra), the two bosatsu (bodhisattva) representing the virtues of wisdom and compassion, respectively.

Contemporary artist Tadanori Yokoo, 86, is one of many artists in Japan who have been inspired by Kanzan and Jittoku. The artist said so himself in a press conference at the Tokyo National Museum on April 20, 2023, announcing the exhibition of his colorful paintings based on the traditional theme: “I have been interested in Kanzan and Jittoku for some time, and I had already taken on the theme and started painting when I was asked to do this exhibition.”

The meaning of the first of two Chinese characters in the name Shide or Jittoku（拾得）is “to pick up,” but it also signifies the numeric “ten.” With this in mind, Yokoo told the museum he would prepare 100 paintings for display instead of just 10.

In the press conference, Yokoo chuckled as he said, “My own words became my own burden…. At age 86, I had to work on a series of 100 paintings.” He worked “like an athlete” through the time of the pandemic, and kept reminding himself to get rid of his own style and to be “as freewheeling as Kanzan and Jittoku were.”

102 paintings dated, but untitled

Accordingly, 102 Kanzan and Jittoku paintings, newly created by Yokoo in about one-and-a-half years’ time (September 2021-June 2023), will go on display in “Tadanori Yokoo: 100 Takes on Hanshan and Shide,” an exhibition set to open on Sept. 12 at Tokyo National Museum’s Hyokeikan. “View the paintings and feel whatever you like,” Yokoo said.

The paintings to go on display are themed on Hanshan and Shide, or Kanzan and Jittoku, of course, but are only dated and not given specific titles. What is depicted would depend on what Yokoo saw, experienced or felt that day, and it would be up to the viewer to decide what that might be.

Here and there in the paintings are hints and suggestions you might want to look for to figure out for yourself what is going on between the two monks. For instance, in《2022-11-03》 (Nov. 3, 2022), the abstracted Kanzan (right) looks as if he is dribbling a soccer ball, and the date tells us it was a couple of weeks before the 2022 World Cup kicked off in Qatar. That being the case, it is not so hard to imagine where the artist’s mind might have been at the time.

Profile: Tadanori YOKOO

The artist hails from the city of Nishiwaki in Hyogo Prefecture (born: 1936) in western Japan. His first solo exhibition abroad was in ’72 at MoMA, New York. Since then, his works have often been seen in biennials held in Paris, Venice, São Paulo and other cities across the world. Solo exhibitions have been held at notable museums including the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris and the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow. Domestically, solo exhibitions have been held at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo; The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa and The National Museum of Art, Osaka.

In 2012, the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art opened in Kobe. The Teshima Yokoo House opened in Kagawa Prefecture in ’13.

He received the Mainichi Fine Art Award in 1995. In 2011, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette for distinguished achievements in international relations was conferred on the artist by the Japanese government. He won the Asahi Prize and was awarded The 27th Praemium Imperiale in honor of Prince Takamatsu in 2015. In ’20, he was awarded the title of Tokyo Honorary Citizen. He was selected as a new member of the Japan Art Academy in ’23.

His novel “Buruland” won the Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature in 2008. In ’16, he was awarded the Kodansha essay Award.

“Tadanori Yokoo: 100 Takes on Hanshan and Shide” at Tokyo National Museum’s Hyokeikan will last until Dec. 3, 2023.