Mad in Pursuit Notebook
Art as Exuberant Resistance
Japanese Haiga of the Nineteeth Century
These four small (4" x 5") haiga (paintings plus poetry) were made in Japan, likely in the early-to-mid 1800s. The artists were members of the bunjin (the "literati"), a loose counterculture network of scholars, poets, doctors, and monks who loved the ancient Chinese ideal of the scholar-amateur.
Their Zen-inspired work was a form of resistance against the rigid formalities and strict social order of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled Japan during the Edo Period (1601-1868). This movement, eventually known as the Nanga School, rejected the idea of technical perfection and prized kōsetsu (studied clumsiness) and wild energy.
These paintings of happy monks might have been created spontaneously during a shogakai—a lively calligraphy and painting banquet where the literati gathered to share sake, write verses, and exchange witty sketches. I think that sounds like a wonderful kind of gathering!
And, of course, I love the idea of art and poetry as a kind of resistance.
14 March 2026
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