Seiko　西湖

KEY WORD :　 art history / paintings

Ch: Xihu. Lit. west lake. Of the several Chinese lakes known as West Lake, the most famous is the West Lake at Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang 浙江 Province. This lake is rich in scenic beauty as well as in religious, historical and literary association. Most of the famous religious monuments at the West Lake were constructed by Emperor Qianchu 銭俶 (908-978), a devout patron of Tiantai (Jp:Tendai 天台) Buddhism. For this reason it was a favorite pilgrimage center for Chinese and Japanese monks from the 11c. Of the many literary men associated with the West Lake, Su Shi (Jp: So shoku 蘇軾, also known in Japan as *So Touba 蘇東坡, 1036-1101), who supposedly had a dike constructed there, and Lin Hejing (Jp: *Rin Nasei 林和靖 967-1028), who lived on a small island in the middle of the lake called Mt. Gu 孤 or Orphan Mountain, are the most famous. The best-known views of the lake were gathered into a group of Ten Views Seikojikkei-zu 西湖十景図; autumn moon over Pinghu (Ch: Pinghu qiuyue 平湖秋月); spring dawn over Su Shi dike(Ch: Sudi chunxiao 蘇堤春暁); lingering snow on Duanqiao (Ch: Duanqiao canxue 断橋残雪); evening glow in Leifeng (Ch: Leifeng luozhao 雷峰落照); evening bell from Nanping (Ch: Nanping wanzhong 南屏晩鐘); lotus flowers at Chuyuan (Ch: Chuyuan fenghe 麹院風荷); watching fish at Huagang (Ch: Huagang guanyu 花港観魚); listening to nightingales at Liulang (Ch: Liulang wenxing 柳浪聞鴬); lights from the three beacons at Santang (Ch: Santang yinyue 三潭印月); and clouds over Liangfeng (Ch: Liangfeng chayun 両峰挿雲). In China, paintings of the West Lake gained popularity in the Southern-Song period and can be divided into two types: those which feature a bird's eye view *choukan-zu 鳥瞰図 of the entire scene, and sets comprised of the ten views. Chinese paintings and prints of both types were known in Japan and influenced representations by Japanese artists, although some Japanese painters saw the lake first-hand. For instance, both Sesshu 雪舟 (1420-1506) and his disciple Shuugetsu 秋月 (late 15c - early 16c) made pilgrimages there, and the Latter's painting (1496) in the Ishikawa 石川 Prefectural Art Museum, is well known. The West Lake was also a popular theme for *nanga 南画 artists, although their paintings were likely to be based on earlier paintings, literary descriptions or the imagination. Several iconographic features, including the arched Sushi dike (Ch: Sudi 蘇堤, willows and pagodas became standard in virtually all paintings of the West Lake. Notable Japanese paintings include works by Nouami 能阿弥 (1397-1471), Kanou Sanraku 狩野山楽 (1559-1635), and Ike no Taiga 池大雅 (1723-76); Manpukuji 萬福寺, Kyoto

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