Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/213

 teristics are great boldness, combined with a very skilful disposition of tints both in the execution of designs and in surface decoration. Kenzan is, in fact, a perfect representative of the genuine Japanese school, which requires that results, however elaborate, shall convey no idea of detailed effort, and enforces strict obedience to the natural principle of limited impressions. A branch of plum blossoms, a tuft of feathery reeds and bending grasses, a family of sparrows clustering amid the foliage of a bamboo, or the blue crest of a mountain peeping through a haze of golden clouds,—such things as these can be comprehended at a single glance, and are therefore legitimate subjects for representation in the circumscribed field which the artist has at his disposal. Kenzan thoroughly understood this. His designs are often exceedingly artistic for all their simplicity, and the landscapes depicted on some of his smaller pieces embody most graceful conceptions. He preferred shibu-ye and ai-ye—designs in black, russet-brown, and blue—to kin-ye—designs in coloured enamels and gold. But in all three varieties of decoration he showed himself equally a master. His best pieces were potted at Awata, and neither their pâte nor their glaze is distinguishable from that of the ordinary Awata-yaki. The style, however, cannot possibly be mistaken. It is bold almost to roughness. Even when little landscapes are depicted—a rare subject with Kenzan—there is no attempt at delicacy or fineness: a vigorous sketch entirely satisfies the artist. His most frequent method was to dash in a floral scroll, a flight of geese or herons in outline, or a suggestion of flowers and trees. The colour used in these more archaic specimens was usually the dark