Page:The Spirit of Japanese Art, by Yone Noguchi; 1915.djvu/50

Rh another artist in the West. It is not his aim at all to express the light and colour of his individuality. I believe that he even despised it. He had the volumes of the Oriental philosophy in himself; and his idea, I believe, was much influenced by the Zen sect Buddhism, whose finality in teaching is to forget your ego. Gaho often talked on Kokoromochi in picture, to use his favourite expression, which, I am sure, means more than "spirit." "Now what is it?" he was frequently asked. "Is it in its nature subjective or objective? Or is it something like a combination of the two?" He was never explanatory in speech in his life. He thought, as a Zen priest, that silence was the best answer. Let me explain his Kokoromochi in picture by my understanding.

It is life or vital breath of the objective character, which is painted by one who has no stain of eye or subjectivity. To lose your subjectivity against the canvas, or, I will say, here in Japan, the silk, is the first and last thing. And the perfect assimilation with the object which you are going to paint would be the way of emancipation. You have to understand that you are called out by a divine voice only to be a medium, but nothing else. I am afraid that the phrase, "Let Nature herself speak," has been over-used. However, it is peculiarly true in Gaho's case. I think Gaho thought that to flash the rays of his individuality in his picture was nothing but a