A Southern Song Landscape in Wind and Rain, Attributed to Ma Yuan
A single hanging scroll, ink and faint color on silk, shows one figure clutching a folded umbrella as he hurries across the foreground while wind drives rain through the trees above him. This is Landscape in Wind and Rain (Fūu Sansui-zu), a National Treasure held by the Seikadō Foundation in Tokyo and traditionally given to the brush of Ma Yuan, a court painter of China's Southern Song dynasty.
The painting itself is small for the drama it contains. The image area measures about 111 centimeters tall and 56 centimeters wide; with its mounting the scroll rises to nearly two meters. It was designated a National Treasure on June 28, 1956, one of seven such works in the Seikadō collection.
For viewers outside Japan, the term National Treasure (kokuhō) marks the highest rank in the country's system for protecting cultural property. A Chinese painting of the 13th century reaching that rank in Japan is not a contradiction. Works like this one entered Japan centuries ago, were treasured by shoguns and tea masters, and shaped the course of Japanese art. Their protection here reflects that long second life on Japanese soil.
Why a Chinese Painting Became a Japanese National Treasure
Ma Yuan (active around 1190 to 1225) served the Southern Song imperial painting academy and is counted among the four great masters of that academy alongside Xia Gui, Li Tang, and Liu Songnian. He became known for asymmetric compositions that pushed the main forms into one corner of the picture and left the rest open, a habit that earned him the nickname "One-Corner Ma." The Ma family produced court painters across several generations.
No painting can be proven to come from Ma Yuan's own hand today, which makes every work linked to his name a matter of careful judgment rather than certainty. This scroll has long been regarded as close to his manner, and older connoisseurs praised it as a piece that could be assigned to no one else. More recent opinion is cautious, with some scholars placing the work slightly after Ma Yuan's lifetime. The designation name keeps the honest hedge: "attributed to Ma Yuan."
What is not in doubt is the painting's influence. Southern Song academy landscapes of this kind were prized in the collection of the Ashikaga shoguns and became models for ink painters of Japan's Muromachi period. Artists such as Sesshū and the early Kanō masters learned from works in this lineage. A scroll like this one stands near the source of an entire current in Japanese painting, which is a large part of why it is protected so highly here.
What to Look For
Spend time with the lower third of the picture first. The foreground rocks and the old tree are worked in dense, dark ink, given weight and edge. As the eye climbs, the brushwork loosens. Mid-ground foliage seems to shudder in the gusts, and the far mountains gather in overlapping, complicated masses high on the silk. This rise from heavy near forms to dissolving distance is the academy manner of the Ningzong era (1194 to 1224) at work.
The color is easy to miss. This is an ink painting first, but a restrained green has been laid into some of the plants, the technique called tan-sai, light coloring. The effect is atmospheric rather than decorative.
Then there is the man. Bent under his umbrella, small against the storm, he gives the whole scene its tension and its scale. East Asian landscape painting often places a tiny human figure inside vast nature to measure one against the other. Here the figure does more than measure; he is caught mid-stride in bad weather, and the picture asks you to feel the wind with him.
Around the Museum
Since October 2022 the Seikadō Bunko Art Museum has shown its collection from a gallery called Seikadō at Marunouchi, on the first floor of the Meiji Seimeikan building near the Imperial Palace moat. The building, completed in 1934, is itself an Important Cultural Property and a fine example of early modern Western-style architecture in Japan. Four exhibition rooms ring a top-lit central hall, and the marble interior gives Chinese ink paintings an unusual setting.
The Seikadō collection grew from the holdings of Iwasaki Yanosuke (1851 to 1908), second president of Mitsubishi, and his son Koyata (1879 to 1945), the fourth president. It now holds roughly 6,500 East Asian art objects and some 200,000 classical books, including seven National Treasures. Among them is the celebrated Yōhen Tenmoku tea bowl, one of only three intact examples in the world. If Landscape in Wind and Rain is on view during your visit, several other masterworks are likely nearby.
The location could not be more central. Tokyo Station sits a short walk away, the Imperial Palace gardens are across the avenue, and the Mitsubishi Ichigōkan Museum and the broad brick lanes of Marunouchi fill the surrounding blocks. The museum entrance is reached through the Meiji Yasuda Village complex at street level.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Tokyo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Light Coloured Ink Painting on Silk of a Landscape in the
- [ Tokyo Skytree Asakusa & teamLab Experiences ]
Q&A
- Can I see this painting any time I visit?
- No. The museum has no permanent display and opens only for special exhibitions, roughly four a year. Fragile silk works like this scroll are shown for limited periods. Check the exhibition schedule before you go.
- Did Ma Yuan really paint it?
- The work is attributed to Ma Yuan rather than firmly documented. No paintings survive that can be proven to be his, so the name reflects long tradition and style. Some scholars suspect a date slightly later than his lifetime.
- Why is a Chinese painting a Japanese National Treasure?
- It entered Japan long ago and was prized by shoguns and tea connoisseurs, then shaped Japanese ink painting. Japan's National Treasure system protects important works held in the country regardless of where they were made.
- Where is the museum now?
- The exhibition gallery moved in 2022 to the first floor of the Meiji Seimeikan in Marunouchi, central Tokyo, a few minutes from Tokyo Station. The collection storehouse remains in Okamoto, Setagaya.
- What else is worth seeing there?
- The Seikadō holds seven National Treasures, including the Yōhen Tenmoku tea bowl, a Sōtatsu screen of scenes from The Tale of Genji, and a Zen figure painting by Yintuoluo. The Meiji Seimeikan building itself rewards a look.
Basic Information
| Designated name | Landscape in Wind and Rain, ink and light color on silk, attributed to Ma Yuan (Kenpon bokuga tansai fūu sansui-zu) |
|---|---|
| Category | Painting |
| Designation | National Treasure (designated June 28, 1956) |
| Origin and period | China, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century |
| Attributed artist | Ma Yuan |
| Form and count | One hanging scroll; ink and light color on silk |
| Dimensions | Image approx. 111.3 cm high, 55.9 cm wide; mounted scroll approx. 199.0 cm high, 71.4 cm wide |
| Owner | Seikadō Foundation |
| Collection storehouse | 2-23-1 Okamoto, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo |
| Exhibition venue | Seikadō at Marunouchi, Meiji Seimeikan 1F, 2-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo |
| Public access | Shown only during special exhibitions; no permanent display |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database (record 201-130)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/130
- Seikadō Bunko Art Museum, Paintings (collection page)
- https://www.seikado.or.jp/collection_index/collection02/
- Seikadō Bunko Art Museum (official site)
- https://www.seikado.or.jp/
- Seikadō at Marunouchi, Meiji Yasuda Village
- https://www.meijiyasuda-v.jp/about/seikado_marunouchi
Last verified: 2026.06.13