kakemono　掛物

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Also called by names such as kakejiku 掛軸, kakefuku 掛幅, jikumono 軸物, *jiku 軸, and fuku 幅. Old names are kake-e 掛絵 and kakeji 掛字. A hanging scroll. A work of calligraphy or a painting which is mounted and hung in an alcove or on a wall. The mounting *hyousou 表装 is made of paper or cloth and provides a backing and a frame for the picture. Crossbars are attached to the upper and lower ends of the mounting. A cord attached to the upper crosspiece (called hyoumoku 表木 or *hassou 発装) allows the work to be hung. The lower end of the mounting is rolled tightly around the lower crossbar jiku. The origin of the mounting of painting and calligraphy is thought to date back to the Tang dynasty in China. The hanging scroll, or kakemono, may have developed out of the mounted sutra which made use of a cylindrical bar at the end around which the scroll was rolled for storage. The worship of murals, which came into Tang culture from Tibet, also may have influenced this development, as the hanging scroll format made copies of these paintings more portable. The Japanese mounting developed from the pre-Sung Chinese style (pre 960), and there are different kinds of mounting styles in Japan, including the *honzon hyougu 本尊表具, *yamato hyougu 大和表具 and *fukurohyougu 袋表具. The Chinese mounting is relatively simple compared to the Japanese mounting. Some features originally developed in China, such as the fuutai or ichimonji (see below), died out there in the Sung and Yuan dynasties. Kakemono seem to have been imported into Japan along with Esoteric Buddhism during the Heian period. During the Kamakura period, kakemono became more prevalent. In the succeeding Muromachi period, due to the influence of Zen, kakemono became connected with the tea ceremony. Often tied to the taste for things Chinese, they came to be appreciated as works to be viewed for their aesthetic quality alone rather than as purely images of worship (see, for example *doushakuga 道釈画). In the beginning, kakemono were displayed in a central position in a Buddhist sanctum *butsuden 仏殿, the main building *hondou 本堂 of a Buddhist temple or on a partition wall in one of the main rooms. Kakemono were also displayed on the walls of other rooms in a butsuden, and later in the residences of nobility or the wealthy and powerful. With the establishment of the palatial residential style of architecture *shoin-zukuri 書院造, the kakemono eventually came to be hung in the *tokonoma 床の間, where the shapes of the hanging scroll and the alcove complemented one another. The kakemono then became the predominant way of displaying calligraphy and painting. It developed a close relationship to the architectural setting in which it was hung. In this respect, there was considerable influence from the tea ceremony. A great variety of painting and calligraphy is mounted as kakemono, including subjects such as landscapes or bird-and-flower, one-line calligraphy, and old letters or poems *bokuseki 墨跡; (brushwork in ink on paper or cloth, especially calligraphy by Zen monks of the Rinzai 臨済 sect), Buddhist paintings, sketches made from life, and even colored papers and fragments of old documents and portions of horizontal scrolls. Single kakemono meant to stand alone are called doppuku 独幅. Kakemono are also mounted as sets *tsuifuku 対幅. These include soufuku 双幅 (a pair or diptych) or sanpukutsui 三幅対 (a triptych). Certain subjects lend themselves to these formats, such as the tiger and dragon for a diptych, and the deity *Kannon 観音, with the monkey and crane for a triptych. Kakemono can also be mounted in sets of four yonpukutsui 四幅対, as in a set of the four seasons; in sets of six roppukutsui 六幅対, producing a screen; in sets of eight happukutsui 八幅対, as in a set of the eight views of a certain landscape; or in sets of twelve juunifukutsui 十二幅対, as in a series of the twelve months. Each part of the Japanese mounting has a specific name and the names of the parts can vary depending on the type of mounting for which they are used. The following are general guidelines: The word honshi 本紙 refers to the painting or calligraphy itself. Paper, silk or white satin are used for the honshi. The rest of the mounting, excluding the honshi is called *hyoushi 表紙. The *ichimonji 一文字 are the narrow strips of cloth used in the horizontal areas immediately above and below the honshi. Generally, the upper ichimonji will be double the height of the lower ichimonji. It is common to reserve the best cloth, such as gold brocade, for the ichimonji. The *chuuberi 中縁 or chuumawashi 中廻し refer to those portions of cloth which run alongside the honshi on all four sides, above and below the ichimonji and to the right and left of the honshi proper. Those strips which border the honshi to the right and left are called heri 縁 or hashira 柱. The lower chuuberi will generally be double the height of the upper ichimonji, and the upper chuuberi will be twice the height of the lower chuuberi. Cloth used for the chuuberi is usually somewhat lower in quality than that used for the ichimonji. *Jouge 上下 refers to the upper and lower portions of the mounting, bordering the chuuberi. The quality of cloth used for the jouge is usually somewhat lower than that used for the chuuberi. The *fuutai 風帯 consists of two long, narrow strips of cloth sewn to the upper crosspiece (hassou and hung down. Their lengths match the height of the upper portion of the mounting (the jou of the jouge) or slightly exceed it, extending into the chuuberi. Other parts of the typical hanging scroll include the makiginu 巻絹 or uwamakiginu 上巻絹, which is an extremely thin section of silk cloth that is attached to the upper back side of the mounting and remains visible when the scroll is rolled up for storage. The style of mounting preferred for the tea ceremony includes the ichimonji, fuutai, chuuberi and jouge. Other types of mountings include the *mikiri hyougu 見切表具, *minchou shitate 明朝仕立, and *bunjin hyougu 文人表具. Although kakemono are often taller than they are wide (called in this case tatejiku 縦軸 or joufuku 条幅), there are also works that are wider than they are tall yokofuku 横幅. In addition to the variations in mounting styles, the different sizes of mountings and the various sets of hanging scrolls, there is the important overall element of shin 真 (hyouho 表補), gyou 行 (douho 幢補) and sou 草 (rinpo 輪補) modes. Shin is translated as formal, gyou as semi-formal and sou as informal (see *shin-gyou-sou 真行草). Each category is further subdivided. The shin and gyou modes can each be mounted in shin, gyou or sou sub-styles, whereas the sou mode only contains the sub-styles of gyou and sou. The type of mode and sub-style chosen is governed by such considerations as the type of painting or calligraphy to be mounted and the purpose for which it will be used.

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