Finger painting - Shitoga

Also known as finger painting or finger ink, this is a technique of ink painting in which ink is applied to the pads of the fingers and nails instead of a brush. It is said to have been started by Zhang Ying of the Tang Dynasty in China, but it is thought to have been used on parts of the painting that were painted with a brush. The first full-scale example was Gao Qipei of the Qing Dynasty, who is considered the founder of finger painting, and his great-grandson Gao Ping wrote "Finger Painting Theory" (1771). In Japan, it is said to have been painted by Yanagisawa Kien, but there are no surviving examples, and Ike no Taiga's "The 500 Arhats" is the most excellent surviving example. It has lines and ink shading that cannot be achieved with a brush, giving it a unique artistic style.

[Shinichi Nagai]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

指画、指墨ともいい、筆のかわりに、手の指の肚(はら)や爪(つめ)に墨をつけて描く水墨画の技法の一つ。中国唐代の張璅(ちょうそう)が始めたといわれるが、これは筆を使った画面の一部に用いたものと思われる。本格的なものは清(しん)代の高其佩(こうきはい)が最初で、指頭画の祖とされ、従孫の高秉(へい)に『指頭画説』（1771）がある。日本では柳沢淇園(きえん)が描いたのが初めといわれるが、現存の遺品はなく、池大雅(いけのたいが)の『五百羅漢(らかん)図』がそのもっとも優れた遺品である。毛筆では表せない描線や墨の濃淡があり、独自の画趣を備えている。

［永井信一］

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