“After” Watanabe Kazan

Edo period 19th century

1615-1868

Painting

An ink and coloured painting on silk bordered in silk mounts and wooden jikusaki (scroll ends). The painting depicts an oo-kamakiri (Giant mantis) having caught a cicada in its forelegs.

The mantis in Japan is seen as a symbol of courage. It is often associated with the Buddhist concept of the wheel of life, like the proverb: “even the sharp mandibles of the fighting mantis are set at nought by the wheel of fate”. The mantis has its forelegs set high ready to strike, the act of a mantis strike is so sudden as to end the life of another being in a split second.  

Signed Watanabe Kazan with red seal

Scroll size 341mm x 1114mm

Painting size 169mm x 230mm