Cult Challenge: December 2024: “Poems for Itō Jakuchū”

We started the year with a poetry challenge that would be based upon Japanese Art, and so we are ending 2024 in the same vein.

This time, it is to be based upon the beautiful work of Cult Challenge: December 2024: “Poems for Itō Jakuchū” – an 18th Century artist who produced some of the most beautiful images I’ve ever seen.

As previously, we will have a poshly produced book featuring a selection of artwork alongside the best of the poems.

To be clear:

1. 1. Write a Poem that reacts to some aspect of the work of Itō Jakuchū
   2. The Winning poets will see their work featured in a rather posh book during 2025

Rules:

1. 1. There are no length constraints
   2. You must be a Cult Member to submit your poem – sending it to competition@hedgehogpress.co.uk
   3. Send the poem by 11.59pm on the 31st of January 2025

Itō Jakuchū (born March 2, 1716, Kyōto, Japan—died Oct. 27, 1800, Kyōto) was a Japanese painter of the mid-Tokugawa period (1603–1867) who excelled in drawing flowers, fish, and birds, especially fowl, which he used to keep at his home in order to observe them closely.

The son of a greengrocer, he first studied drawing with a painter of the Kanō school (stressing Chinese subject matter and techniques). He also made copies of old Chinese masters. He developed an amazingly realistic style and added to it decorative touches that he learned in part from the works of Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716). He made a set of 30 pictures for the Shōkoku Temple, entitled “Dōshokusai-e” (coloured pictures of animals and plants), which, along with “Gunkei zu fusumae” (screen painting of fowl), are his most famous works. He later became a recluse and assumed the name Tobeian (“Bushel Monk”). It is said that those who got his paintings gave him one to (approximately two bushels) of rice in return.

Here are a selection of  the artwork that may be included in the Book…