This charming shikishi print features the zodiac motif 干支「未」(Hitsuji – Sheep/Goat), created by 上野道善 (Ueno Dōzen) of 東大寺 (Tōdai-ji Temple) in Nara—one of Japan’s most historically significant and revered Buddhist temples.
The imagery carries an auspicious message “golden sheep cloud” (瑞兆とされる黄金の羊雲) symbolizes good fortune and the wish for a peaceful and prosperous year.
The composition beautifully combines calligraphy and gentle figurative illustration, with the characters 「慶雲」 (Keiun, “auspicious cloud”) and 「未」 rendered in expressive brushwork. The phrase Keiun refers to a propitious cloud believed to herald good fortune and благessing, a classical symbol in East Asian culture associated with peace, prosperity, and divine favor.
The illustration itself was rendered by Nakagawa Hakuyō, a Japanese-style painter born in Taishō 14 (1925), known as the eldest son of the renowned Nihonga artist Nakagawa Shūka. Trained within the lineage of modern Japanese painting, Nakagawa has been recognized as a skilled artist, contributing to temple artworks and cultural institutions, and has been active as an instructor in Japanese painting.
In the Japanese zodiac, the sheep represents gentleness, harmony, and familial well-being, making this piece not only decorative but deeply symbolic. The collaboration between a Buddhist calligrapher and a trained Nihonga painter reflects a refined blend of spiritual and artistic traditions.
This piece is a print on a traditional gold-edged shikishi board, preserving the original composition’s character while making it accessible. The surface shows gentle age-related spotting, adding to its vintage charm and authenticity.
Size: 24 x 27cm
