White Plum Tree

At the lower left of the tall composition a gnarled thick trunk appears, with green and brown colors mingling. From it thin branches stretch to the upper right, and many small white plum blossoms are open. A poem is written at the upper left, and a seal sits at the lower left.

According to the museum's commentary, the plum blossoms, which omit the depiction of petals and capture only the outline of the flower, are a stylized expression called the "Korin plum," and the trunk uses the technique of tarashikomi. Tarashikomi is a technique of dripping another color into wet ink or pigment so that they blend. The commentary says it shows the sure skill of Hoitsu, who inherited the Rimpa school.

At the top is added a waka that begins "Ume no hana / yachiyo no haru ni / nioutomo," roughly "Even if plum blossoms are fragrant through countless springs." Its author was Fujitani Mitsue, a classical scholar and poet from Kyoto, and it is thought he had some kind of friendship with Hoitsu. Hoitsu was born into the Sakai family of the Himeji domain and, in Edo, created a new Rimpa current with lyricism and a refined sensibility. The scroll is 86.5 cm high and 35.5 cm wide.