Painting praise - Gasan

It can be written as 'gasan', 'gasan', or simply 'san'. Originally it referred to words praising a painting written in the margins of the painting, but later it came to refer to texts, poems, songs, etc. written alongside the painting. In China and Japan, the idea of ​​the unity of calligraphy and painting has existed since ancient times, and was born as a way to appreciate calligraphy and paintings together, and to link the literary content of poetry and waka poetry written in calligraphy with paintings. It originated in the Tang dynasty, when calligraphy that collected praises for paintings was already being created. It was during the Song dynasty that the format was finalized, and under its influence, many examples can be seen in ink paintings and portraits from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods in Japan. It was also favored in literati paintings from the Edo period, and is often seen in modern Japanese paintings.

[Shinichi Nagai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

画贊、画讃とも書き、単に賛ともいう。もともと絵画を賞賛する意味のことを絵の余白に書き記したものをいうが、のちに、絵とともに書かれた文、詩、歌などをさしていうようになった。中国や日本には古くから書画一致の考えがあり、書と絵をあわせて鑑賞したり、書によって記された詩や和歌のもつ文学的内容と絵画とを結び付けるために生まれた。そのおこりは唐代にあり、当時すでに画賛を集めた書がつくられている。形式のうえで整ってきたのは宋(そう)代で、その影響を受けて、わが国の鎌倉・室町時代の水墨画や肖像画の作品にも多くの例がみられる。江戸時代の文人画にも好んで用いられ、現代の日本画にもしばしばみられる。

［永井信一］

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