Vintage Japanese Kakejiku Hanging Scroll Mountain River Landscape Nihonga Signed Showa

Japanese kakejiku hanging scroll, yoko-e horizontal format, ink and mineral color on paper, alpine spring landscape with mountain river gorge, signed 成起 (Seiki), mid-Shōwa period

Japan; early to mid-Shōwa period, c. 1930s–1960s; signed 成起 (Seiki) with red seal

A handsome yoko-e (横絵, horizontal format) kakejiku — a less common format than the standard vertical scroll, lending itself naturally to panoramic landscape composition. The painting depicts a spring alpine scene of considerable spatial depth: in the foreground, a river rushes through a rocky gorge, the white water rendered in energetic broken brushwork among grey boulders and mossy outcroppings. Fresh-leafed deciduous trees in yellow-green and dark conifers frame the middle ground, where more boulders and scattered trees recede into a mountain valley. The upper register is dominated by a broad snow-capped mountain range rendered in layered grey-blue and white washes, its ridgeline soft against an overcast hazy sky. The overall palette — naturalistic greens, cool greys, blue-white snow, and warm ochre earth tones — reflects the influence of Western plein-air observation on the nihonga tradition, where mineral pigments and careful atmospheric perspective replace the more conventional ink-wash approach. Signed 成起 (Seiki) lower left with one red seal. The mounting is a formal gold brocade with allover peony pattern, with a darker scroll band above and below — a quality mounting appropriate to the subject. The jikusaki upper roller is a figured hardwood with attractive grain.

Landscape painting (山水画, sansuiga) is among the most enduring subjects in the Japanese painting tradition, and the spring alpine scene — snow still on the peaks, new green appearing in the valleys, rivers running full with snowmelt — carries the seasonal resonance that made kakejiku such an integral part of the tokonoma culture. A scroll of this subject, displayed in the late spring months, would signal the transition from winter's austerity to summer's abundance — the landscape itself as calendar.

• Format: Kakejiku (掛軸) hanging scroll, yoko-e (horizontal) format
• Subject: Spring alpine landscape with mountain river gorge
• Medium: Ink and mineral color on paper; gold brocade mounting with peony pattern
• Artist: Signed 成起 (Seiki) with one red seal (identity unconfirmed)
• Period: Early to mid-Shōwa, c. 1930s–1960s
• Dimensions: TBD; please see photos for scale
• Condition: Please see photos for details.