Unknown artist

Meiji / Taisho, 19th/20th century

1868-1926

Painting

An ink and coloured painting on silk bordered in silk mounts and bone jikusaki (scroll ends). The painting depicts Emperor Jimmu sitting on a rock with his strung bow. Two Japanese chronicles record Jimmu as being the first Emperor of Japan. He travelled eastward from Hyuga in 607 bc along Japan’s Inland Sea, subduing tribes as he went and ending in Yamato, where he established his centre of power.

Jimmu is said to have been a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu through her grandson Ninigi. Ninigi was sent down to govern Earth, and he married a descendant of the storm god Susanoo.

Signed in a gold pot seal

Scroll size 588mm x 1875mm

Painting size 410mm x 1054mm