Rooster

A rice-straw bale sits at the bottom of the narrow format, and a rooster stands on it on one leg. Its body is turned nearly toward the viewer, and its long black tail arcs upward. It balances like a circus performer, with a humorous expression.

Jakuchu is known to have kept dozens of chickens in his garden and sketched them repeatedly. The museum suggests this work may capture one of them. Front-facing chickens also appear in the Imperial Collection's Doshoku sai-e, "Group of Roosters," and Saifuku-ji's "Cactus and Group of Roosters," and are said to show a more distinctive expression than chickens in profile.

At first glance the brushwork looks rough, but the straw rope on the bale and the rooster's face, feathers and legs are all carefully rendered in different densities of ink. Looking closely, you can also see fine dot patterns on the comb and wattles.