According to a biography written by his close friend the Zen monk Daiten Kenjo (1719-1801) in 1766, who would later become abbot of Shokoku-ji, Ito Jakuchu (1716-1800) 'could not bear' to paint human forms. Famed primarily for his meticulous polychrome renderings of birds and flowers (doshoku sai-e), these hanging scrolls depicting genre scenes in black ink on paper are therefore a rarity amongst Jakuchu's oeuvre, and offer an intriguing insight into the artist's deep involvement with Zen ink painting traditions.

In one of these two paintings, a performer balances on one leg atop a stacked pile of bound bundles of wood. His head tilted back, he supports the base of a long wooden rod on his chin, on top of ...