![Three Friends of Winter [right of a pair] by Yamamoto Baiitsu](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd2w8kbdekdi1gv.cloudfront.net%2FeyJidWNrZXQiOiAiYXJ0ZXJhLWltYWdlcy1idWNrZXQiLCAia2V5IjogImFydHdvcmtzL2UyMGI4MTA0LWRjMDctNGIyMi1hOThlLTBhZDYzOTFlNjJhMC9lMjBiODEwNC1kYzA3LTRiMjItYTk4ZS0wYWQ2MzkxZTYyYTBfZnVsbC5qcGciLCAiZWRpdHMiOiB7InJlc2l6ZSI6IHsid2lkdGgiOiAxOTIwLCAiaGVpZ2h0IjogMTkyMCwgImZpdCI6ICJpbnNpZGUifX19&w=3840&q=75)
Three Friends of Winter [right of a pair] c. 19th century
Dimensions 61 13/16 × 141 3/4 in. (157 × 360.05 cm) (image)68 1/8 × 148 1/16 in. (173.04 × 376.08 cm)
Yamamoto Baiitsu created this ink on paper artwork which is part of a pair, both called 'Three Friends of Winter.' Here, pine, bamboo, and plum trees are not merely plants, but symbols of steadfast endurance in the face of winter's harshness, deeply rooted in East Asian culture. The pine, with its evergreen needles, defies the cold, mirroring the Confucian ideal of resilience. The bamboo, bending but not breaking, represents flexibility and strength. And the plum blossom, flowering in the dead of winter, heralds the coming of spring, embodying hope and renewal. These symbols evoke a psychological connection to ancestral wisdom, echoed through time. You see, consider the pine tree in ancient Roman art, a symbol of immortality and remembrance, reappearing centuries later in funerary art, or the bamboo groves depicted by Chinese scholars, representing a retreat from the chaos of worldly life. Each symbol, laden with memory and meaning, has been passed down and transformed, a testament to the enduring human spirit.
Comments
In East Asia, pine, bamboo, and plum are known as the “three friends of winter.” In addition to their individual auspicious connotations—chaste pine, upright bamboo, and pure plum—each of these three plants is also celebrated for remaining vigorous even during winter and adding color to an otherwise lifeless landscape. They thus represent the Confucian ideal of tenacity in spite of adversity. Yamamoto Baiitsu’s paintings show his familiarity with the colorful, detailed mode of bird-and-flower painting popularized by Shen Nanpin (1682–1758), an influential Chinese painter briefly active in Japan. In this pair of screens, decorative qualities are balanced with a sense of order and clarity: the rough bark of the plum provides a textural foil to the blossoms, while the arching form of the pine is mirrored in the flow of the stream.
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