1846

Wenjun Rinsing Wine Cups

Japanese, 1801 - 1859

This scroll depicts the story of Wenjun, the daughter of a wealthy man, who eloped with the poet Sima Xiangru (died 117 B.C.). When Wenjun's father cut off her inheritance, the pair opened a small wine shop to earn money. The formerly privileged lady is shown at work in this incongruous setting. In the late Edo period, when Ko Ryuko painted this triptych, educated Japanese patrons would have recognized the references to Chinese lore and landscape tradition.