Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/31

RV 11 limner of such works can be identical with the daring artist of the Man-gwa (ten thousand sketches) or the poetical painter of the Hundred Views of Fujiyama. Some may say, perhaps, that the Japanese hand is a product of the ideograph; that the manipulation of the brush through long centuries has modified the shape of the fingers and caused a special adjustment of muscles. That is a question beyond the range of art discussion. It has concern for those that advocate the displacement of the ideographic script by the Roman alphabet, but here it will suffice to notice the three factors that belong to this context, factors which must be recognised by every one desiring to appreciate Japanese art, namely, a hand singularly supple and sensitive, a brush manipulated with skill and strength beyond any Occidental standard, and a hereditary perception of quality in touch with which only an ideographist can fully sympathise.

The brush (fude) itself is not an ideal contrivance for artistic purposes. It is a stiff-haired pencil which, in ordinary hands, presents a difficulty to be overcome rather than a helpful instrument. This comment may be appropriately extended to the general question of the Japanese artist's materials. It is said that unless one has actually worked with those materials, the difficulty of manipulating them cannot be realised. The rapidly absorptive quality of the paper, as prepared for use, necessitates damping of the whole surface in order to apply a wash, and, of course, after the damping process has been repeated three or four times, the sizing of the paper perishes, or the preparation of the silk disappears, if silk is employed. Moreover, the colour first applied is assimilated so largely that unless it be opaque there is little possi-