Old Taoist

The Life, Art, and Poetry of Kodojin (1865-1944)

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by Stephen Addiss,

Translated by Jonathan Chaves

Columbia University Press

Due/Published November 2001, 208 pages, paper

ISBN 0231116578

New in paper (F01)

In the literary and artistic milieu of early modern Japan the Chinese and Japanese arts flourished side by side. Kodojin, the "Old Taoist" (1865-1944), was the last of these great poet-painters in Japan. Under the support of various patrons, he composed a number of Taoist-influenced Chinese and Japanese poems and did lively and delightful ink paintings, continuing the tradition of the poet-sage who devotes himself to study of the ancients, lives quietly and modestly, and creates art primarily for himself and his friends. Portraying this last representative of a tradition of gentle and refined artistry in the midst of a society that valued economic growth and national achievement above all, this beautifully illustrated book brings together 150 of Kodojin's Chinese poems (introduced and translated by Jonathan Chaves), more than 100 of his haiku and tanka (introduced and translated by Stephen Addiss), and many examples of his calligraphy and ink paintings. Addiss's in-depth introduction details the importance of the poet-painter tradition, outlines the life of Kodojin, and offers a critical appraisal of his work, while J. Thomas Rimer's essay puts the literary work of the Old Taoist in context.

"Kodojin's poems and paintings reveal both the triumphs and the ambiguities of Japan's new age, rooted in the Chinese past, nourished for centuries on Japanese soil, and now turned with both expectation and trepidation toward the West. His work caps the rich Japanese heritage. . . . The story of Addiss's patient unearthing of this unusual life and work, very nearly lost to history, itself makes a gripping narrative, and is a triumph of modern scholarship."--David Pollack, University of Rochester