Road to Shu

Yokoi Kinkoku

early 19th century

Hanging scroll, ink and light color on silk

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The road to Shu, the old name of Sichuan Province, was famous for its precarious passages along sheer cliffs. Parts of this road were no wider than a single person and had to be built out on poles from the face of the cliffs. Chinese poets like Li Bai (701–762) composed poems on this hard to manage trail that leads up Mount Emei (Jap. Gabi). One of the Four Buddhist Sacred Mountains of China, Mount Emei is 10, 167 ft. (3, 099 m) tall. Yokoi Kinkoku was a follower of Yosa Buson and imitated him even in his style of calligraphy. He painted in a rapid and spontaneous manner and was especially successful in capturing the vibrancy of mou