Moukozu (‘Ferocious Tiger’) by Ganku

【A designated cultural property of Sakata City】

Late-Edo Period (19C)

One of the representative tiger paintings by Ganku (1749?-1838), who made his name as a master tiger painter along with Maruyama Ōkyo. This work, which depicts an imposing tiger amidst roaring seas and old pines, is one of Ganku’s largest, with a unmistakably realistic impact that pervades the entire painting. Many of the elements visible here resemble those seen in the ‘Tiger and Waves’ folding screen work (part of the Tokyo National Museum collection). Unlike the tigers Ōkyo painted, which had a certain charm, those that Ganku depicted were fiercer and far more realistic.