Seven Chinese Immortals

Goshun initially trained under poet and literati painter Yosa Buson (1716–1784), but subsequently adopted many of the ornamentalizing habits of the Maruyama studio. This pair of screens decoratively depicts seven of the eight Chinese immortals, an established literati ink-painting theme. At the head of the group is Daoist scholar Dongfang Shuo, who famously stole the legendary peaches that grant eternal life; the elderly magician Zhang Guolao walks alongside a dragon at the rear, his mule transformed into a folded sheet of paper tied to his staff. They and their immortal companions are rendered relatively simply in ink. However, the work is theatrically elevated by a generous sprinkling of several types of gold, which forms drifting clouds that imbue the celestial scene with a mystic beauty.