Ikkū - “One Emptiness” - Sake Gourd with Poetic Inscription - vintage Japanese painting on shikishi

Vintage Japanese work on shikishi from the postwar Shōwa period by Ikkū, depicting a gourd-shaped sake vessel with a short poetic inscription.

The work is signed Ikkū and bears red artist seals. The inscription may be translated as: “Three cups drunk alone; one pillow in peaceful sleep.”

Ikkū appears to have been a Japanese painter and calligrapher of the postwar Shōwa period, working under an art name. His works are uncommon, but signed and sealed shikishi by this name form a recognizable group of small-format paintings and calligraphy.

The art name Ikkū may be understood as “One Emptiness”: it combines “one” with kū, a Buddhist term for emptiness, or śūnyatā.

Ikkū’s works are characterized by restraint: the simple shikishi format, minimal decorative effect, and attention to the meaning of image, inscription, and seals. This modesty of material and form is close to the aesthetics of wabi-sabi.

Size

Approximately 24 × 27 cm

Condition

Vintage condition. Age-related toning, scattered spots, surface creases, and light wear to the edges and corners.

Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form part of the condition description.

Shipping

Safe and tracked shipping from Latvia (Riga Gallery of Japanese Art CloudyYokomido). Protective packaging.

For US buyers: US customs processing is prepaid through the shipping service, so no additional customs processing payment is required upon delivery.