Itō Jakuchū (伊藤 若冲, 2 March 1716 – 27 October 1800)[1] was a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period when Japan had isolated itself from the outside world.

[2] He held strong ties to Zen Buddhist ideals, and was considered a lay brother (koji); but he was also keenly aware of his role within a Kyoto society that was becoming increasingly commercial.

In recent years, scholars and art exhibitions have often added Hakuin Ekaku and Suzuki Kiitsu to the six artists listed by Tsuji, calling them the painters of the "Lineage of Eccentrics".

However, he did not seem to be accustomed to the strict teachings of the Kano school, and he honed his skills on his own by observing and sketching the things around him, such as the vegetables sold at his father's shop, the fish in the Nishiki market, and the chickens in his garden, and by using Chinese paintings as a reference.

He called it Shin'en-kan (心遠館, Villa of the Detached Heart [or Mind]), after a phrase from a poem by the ancient Chinese poet Tao Qian.

The Doshoku Sai-e is now designated as a National Treasure and is considered one of the greatest masterpieces not only by Jakuchū but also in the history of Japanese painting.

[9] In his fifties and sixties he produced prints and ink paintings, but during this period he was appointed to the important position of machi doshiyori (町年寄り) at the Nishiki Market, so the number of his works decreased compared to the previous years.

He lost his house in the Great Tenmei Fire around this time and moved to Osaka to seek support from a cultural figure named Kimura Kenkado (木村蒹葭堂), but his passion for painting did not wane, and he painted many large works, including Saboten Gunkei-zu Fusuma (仙人掌群鶏図襖絵, Cactus and Domestic Fowls).

[7][8] A very common theme among his work is birds, in particular hens and roosters, though several of his more famous paintings depict cranes, cockatoos, parrots, and phoenixes.

Begun around 1757 and not finished until 1765, the Pictures are a set of thirty hanging scrolls created as a personal offering to the Shōkoku-ji temple.

Most of Itō Jakuchū's recovered paintings were ink on a hanging scroll, byōbu (屏風, folding screens), or fusuma (襖, sliding doors) panels.

The production method involves first drawing lines at approximately 1 cm intervals with light sumi ink to create a grid across the entire screen.

Some of which include: plums, peaches, apples, winter melon, daikon radish, onions, carrots, frogs, salamanders, butterflies, dragonflies, and bumblebees.

The scroll starts with the depiction of the various fruits and vegetables in seasonal order, then moves to insects and animals with a single butterfly linking the two sides.

The painting is supposed to mimic the typical traditional iconography of nirvana images which includes the eight sal trees (stalks of corn), lotus pedestal (woven basket), Queen Maya (quince fruit), and the orientation of the Buddha where his head is facing left (the daikon's leaves).

Takuan Sōhō, an abbot in the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, was actually credited for his creation of the yellow pickled daikon radish, named after him.

In addition to his experiments with Western materials and perspective, Jakuchū also employed on occasion a method called taku hanga (拓版画, "rubbing prints").

This method used woodblocks to resemble a Chinese technique of ink rubbings of inscribed stone slabs, and was employed by Jakuchū in a number of works, including a scroll entitled "Impromptu Pleasures Afloat" (乗興舟, Jōkyōshū), depicting his and his mentor, Daiten Kenjo's (大典顕常), journey down the Yodo River.

The scroll contains short impromptu Chinese poems inscribed by Daiten inspired by the scenery seen on the journey, which mirrors how the river itself transported ideas.

His crane subjects prove this, being part of traditional Japanese legacy, but also the neutral background and the 'cut' given to the scene composition, with always a careful and detailed flora and fauna decorative style of painting.