Nachi Waterfall

The Nachi waterfall, more than four hundred feet tall, is located in the mountains of Wakayama prefecture, south of Osaka. Long a sacred spot associated with native Shinto beliefs, Nachi has for centuries been a major pilgrimage site. In this masterful painting, the artist Rosetsu contrasts the vastness of this natural wonder with a tiny figure who has come to view it. We invite you to imagine sitting on the floor beside a traditional alcove (tokonoma) hung with this painting. Finding yourself at the level of the hut, your gaze turns upward like the traveler, awed by the spectacle above.

Rosetsu is known for an individualistic and sometimes humorous painting style, in which fluid washes of ink are combined, as here, with carefully rendered details. Rosetsu was trained by the Kyoto master Maruyama Okyo (1733–1795), founder of the Maruyama school of painting. Okyo’s screens of blossoming plum trees are on view nearby in this gallery.