Kakemono Woodcutter in the Autumn Mountains

This pair of hanging scrolls from the Shôwa period leads into the quiet, richly colored mountain world of the Japanese autumn: two matching kakemono show one and the same scenery from a slightly shifted perspective, one with blood-red maple foliage, the other with the protagonist himself at the center of the action.

A man with a woven hat and traditional hiking attire climbs through the mountains, carrying ripe red fruit in his arms while cutting his way through the autumnal undergrowth with a hatchet. Delicate wisps of mist between the mountain peaks and the finely washed treetops create a calm, almost reverent mood typical of the landscape painting of this period, drawing the viewer directly into the scenery.

Both sheets are executed on paper, fitted with a jikusaki made of wood, and each bears the artist's signature and red seal at the lower edge of the image. As a connected set, the two hanging scrolls complement one another and can be hung side by side or individually – an atmospheric piece of Japanese genre painting for lovers of rural, narrative motifs.