Ōtagaki Rengetsu 大田垣蓮月 (1791-1875)

A very interesting work by Ōtagaki Rengetsu and a yet unidentified artist showing a painting of turtles and an accompanying poem. Viewed in the Japanese way from right to left, the turtles are arranged vertically on the right side of the painting, with their heads pointing to the beginning of the poem. The poem reads:

Even if it flows

for ten thousand years,

it will not dry out—

downstream waters

from Turtle Tail Peak.

The poem is written in four lines, the first of which begins at the highest point of the work's composition, while the following lines begin lower and lower. This particular composition of the turtles and the poem actually forms a triangle that visually refers to the mountain mentioned in the poem. A second look reveals a light blue brushstroke under the turtles, suggesting the idea of flowing water beneath them.

There is an interesting story behind this work of art. In East Asia, turtles are a Daoist symbol of longevity, which is consistent with the first line of the poem. However, the mountain mentioned in the poem is not clearly located in Japan. It is more likely that the name Kameyama (Turtle Peak), with the addition of Tail, refers to the famous emperor Go-Kameyama (Go-Kameyama Tennō c. 1347-1424). This 14th-century ruler was named after the 13th-century emperor Kameyama, and "go" (後) literally means "later," so he could be called the "Later Emperor Kameyama.

Go-Kameyama acceded to the throne during the turbulent Nanboku-chō period, when rival claimants to the Chrysanthemum Throne rallied supporters in what was known as the Northern Court and the Southern Court. Go-Kameyama became emperor in the so-called Southern Court when Emperor Chōkei abdicated in 1383.

Under the terms of a peace treaty that Go-Kameyama negotiated with Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Northern and Southern Courts were to alternate control of the throne. However, this was thrown out in 1412 when the Northern Court Emperor Go-Komatsu broke the treaty by abdicating in favor of his own son. From then on, no claimant from the Southern Court ever sat on the Chrysanthemum Throne.

However, since 1911, the Japanese government has declared the Southern claimants to be the rightful emperors, despite the fact that all subsequent emperors, including then-Emperor Meiji, were descended from the Northern Court, arguing that the Southern Court retained possession of the three sacred treasures, thus rendering the former Northern Court emperors mere pretenders.

It is unclear to what extent Rengetsu was aware of this fact, and thus her poem expresses her wish for the continuity of the rightful successors of the imperial family. At the same time, it may express her own wish for longevity in the face of death, as the work is inscribed and signed with the age of 85, the year of her death. 

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