Kakemono Two Koi in Water

Two robust koi carp glide through the water with their mouths slightly open, their scaly texture carefully rendered with countless fine brushstrokes, so that the fish appear almost tangibly three-dimensional. Above them, a flowering branch with numerous white, five-petaled blossoms and slender reed leaves leans into the picture, its delicate lightness forming an appealing contrast to the powerful physicality of the fish.

In Japanese pictorial symbolism, the koi has always stood for perseverance, courage, and the ability to prevail against resistance – a meaning derived from the legend that a koi climbing a waterfall can transform into a dragon. The calm, almost floating posture of the two fish in this painting conveys serenity rather than a fighting spirit.

Signature and red seal are placed in the lower right, the painting is executed on paper and set within a warm, olive-green and gold silk border. The work was created in the Shôwa period and successfully combines depth of meaning with decorative effect through its blend of symbolically charged motif and painterly finesse.