2-738-073 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Plums, Bamboo, and Orchid, 1834. In Japan, the literati painter Yamamoto Baiitsu loved the plum and even changed his name to include the word plum . Here he created a dynamic composition to show the energy of the late Edo period. The plum, bamboo, and orchid derive from the motif of the Four Gentlemen, also called the Four Noble Ones or Four Friends. The term compares four plants—the plum blossom, bamboo, orchid, and chrysanthemum—to Confucian scholar- junzi , or "gentlemen." Four Gentlemen also refers to a painting or decoration incorporating all the plants, which are typically depicted in traditional ink paintings.