Kakemono Jumping Carp in Water

With a wide-open eye and tensed muscles, a single carp breaks through the surface of the water, its body elegantly arched, while fine barbels hang down from its mouth. The precisely rendered scale pattern in warm gold and brown tones stands in appealing contrast to the transparent, only faintly suggested water surface in the background.

The carp is one of the most popular motifs in Japanese painting: it stands for endurance, courage, and successful advancement against all resistance, a symbolism that is especially evident in the depiction of the fish leaping or struggling against the current.

The painting bears the signature and seal of Yoshida Toho and was created in the Meiji period. Painted on silk and fitted with a jikusaki made of bone, this hand-painted unique work embodies, with its lively movement and refined painting technique, a timeless symbol of good fortune in Japanese art.