Two Rice Planting Scenes (田植え図) - Anonymous - Japan (没有保留价)

Title: Two Rice Planting Scenes (田植え図)
Artist: Anonymous
Technique: Hand-painted Iwasai (岩彩) Painting
Signature: Unsigned
Paper Size: 20.5 × 34.2 cm (8.07 × 13.46 in)
Paper Size: 25.8 × 36.8 cm (10.16 × 14.49 in)
Paper Material: Washi (和紙)
These two hand-painted mineral pigment paintings (Iwa-enogu, 岩彩) date from the late Meiji to early Shōwa period (c. 1900–1930) in Japan.

Executed on washi paper with traditional natural mineral pigments, they incorporate decorative techniques of Ukiyo-e, Rinpa (琳派), and Kano (狩野派) schools, depicting the traditional rural scene of rice planting (Tanue, 田植え) in Japanese rice fields.

Judging from their composition, dimensions, and decorative characteristics, they are presumed to be fragments from traditional Japanese folding screens or sliding partition paintings (Fusuma-e, 襖絵).
Such works functioned both as room dividers and wall decorations, and constitute one of the most important painting forms in traditional Japanese architecture.

Such works functioned both as room dividers and wall decorations, and constitute one of the most important painting forms in traditional Japanese architecture.

First Painting
Three farmers are engaged in rice planting (田植え) in a paddy field. They wear traditional Japanese conical straw hats (田植え笠), and the composition focuses solely on their lower bodies and kimono hems.
They are dressed in kimono of distinct colors (red, blue, green) with simple and understated patterns, barefoot or wearing white tabi socks, leaning forward in the typical dynamic and attire of rice-planting work.

Second Painting
It depicts four figures in and around the paddy field: three farmers (two women and one man) wear simply patterned kimono or work clothes, some with work caps or conical straw hats, barefoot or in tabi socks, bending over the paddy field to insert green rice seedlings into the water with focused postures— a classic rice-planting dynamic. On the left embankment sits a child in a red floral short coat, barefoot and pointing toward the paddy field, brimming with innocent charm and adding vivid life to the labor scene.
Both works adopt a unique partial perspective to subtly present the daily scenes of traditional Japanese agricultural life. They both use rich mineral blue (群青 / Prussian blue) to depict the paddy field background, with fine white lines outlining water ripples; the foreground features light brown embankments dotted with green rice seedlings and small white flowers, collectively restoring the simple style of rice planting in rural Japanese paddy fields.

The paintings are executed in natural mineral pigments (Iwasai / Gansai), including azurite, ochre, and malachite. The colors are rich and stable, resistant to oxidation over time— a high-grade material in traditional Japanese painting, endowing the works with unique texture and durability.

Due to age, the paper shows natural signs of aging including toning and dust accumulation. The overall condition is good.

This work is sold unframed; the images are for display purposes only to show the effect after framing.

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