Peach Blossom Spring Utopia
We enter this otherworldly landscape of steep mountain peaks garlanded by green and blue foliage in the lower left corner, where a bridge gives us access to a remote village. A person peers out from an open window to inspect the new visitor. Other figures roam the mountain paths, dotted with the delicate pink blossoms of peach trees. On a high cliff, a trio of men relax and read. Throughout, the artist employs an age-old pictorial vocabulary to suggest the paradisiacal nature of the locale, the legendary Peach Blossom Spring of ancient Chinese lore. This utopian setting was first imagined by the great fifth-century poet Tao Qian (also TaoYuanming; 365–427), who wrote in his famous prose-poem of the same title of a fisherman who stumbles across and spends time in an idyllic community whose residents urge him not to report back to anyone on his time there. He ignores their plea and marks his path home so he can find his way back, but, in the end, he is never able to return to the Peach Blossom Spring.
Born Tomita Shigegorō in Hakata on the western Japanese island of Kyūshu, Keisen began studying painting as a child with Kinugasa Tankoku, a former painter-in-attendance to leaders of the local Fukuoka Domain, in what is today Fukuoka Prefecture. Kinugasa taught Tomita painting methods associated with the Kano school of painters, which by the late nineteenth century had dominated mainstream Japanese painting for four centuries, before sending him off to Kyoto, where he studied with Tsuji Kakō, one of the leading figures of the modern Shijō school. He also became enamored with literati painting modes and in particular admired the work of one of the movement’s leading figures, Tomioka Tessai.
Born Tomita Shigegorō in Hakata on the western Japanese island of Kyūshu, Keisen began studying painting as a child with Kinugasa Tankoku, a former painter-in-attendance to leaders of the local Fukuoka Domain, in what is today Fukuoka Prefecture. Kinugasa taught Tomita painting methods associated with the Kano school of painters, which by the late nineteenth century had dominated mainstream Japanese painting for four centuries, before sending him off to Kyoto, where he studied with Tsuji Kakō, one of the leading figures of the modern Shijō school. He also became enamored with literati painting modes and in particular admired the work of one of the movement’s leading figures, Tomioka Tessai.
Artwork Details
- 桃源境図 (Tōgenkyō zu)
- Title: Peach Blossom Spring Utopia
- Artist: Tomita Keisen 冨田溪仙 (Japanese, 1879–1936)
- Artist: Box inscription by Tomita Yoshiko 冨田芳子 (wife)
- Period: Shōwa period (1926–89)
- Date: early 20th century
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 55 7/8 × 20 3/16 in. (142 × 51.3 cm)
Overall with mounting: 85 × 26 1/4 in. (215.9 × 66.7 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2021
- Object Number: 2021.398.26
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Chae Yongsin (artist name: Seokji)
dated by inscription to 1924
Unidentified artist
Zhou Wenju
early 20th century
Inoue Yūichi
1966
Yi Yong-u (artist name: Mungno)
probably 1940s
Shinoda Tōkō
1982
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.