Drifting in a Small Boat

Inoue Kinga made his living as a Confucian teacher at a private academy in Edo (Tokyo). As such, he was able to lead the ideal life of a literati artist--painting for pure self-expression rather than for profit. His paintings, accordingly, lack the polish of professional painter's, but have a purity and simplicity that more directly reflects his personality and poetic interests. Kinga painted this minimal landscape for his friend, Sanshi, to whom he refers in the poem:

Drifting in a little boat with someone familiar

The waters of the lake have rippled for twenty years--

I also enjoy the smoky haze from a rocky waterfall;

Sand bars to the north and south form a road to meet my friend.