Tadanori Yokoo: 100 Takes on Hanshan and Shide

Profile: Tadanori Yokoo

Artist. Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1936. Held a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 1972. He subsequently exhibited his works at biennales all over the world, including Paris, Venice, and São Paulo, and held solo exhibitions at international museums such as the Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain (Paris), and the State Museum of Oriental Arts (Moscow). He has also held a succession of solo exhibitions in Japan at venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, the National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and the National Museum of Art, Osaka. In 2012, the Yokoo Tadanori Museum of Contemporary Art opened in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture; and in 2013, the Teshima Yokoo House opened in Kagawa Prefecture. Among the many honors he has received are the Mainichi Art Award in 1995; the Order of the Rising Sun, and the Asahi Prize, both in 2011; and the Praemium Imperiale in 2015. He was also named Honorary Citizen of Tokyo in 2020; and member of the Japan Art Academy in 2023. His numerous publications include the novel Blue Land (winner of the Izumi Kyoka Literary Award), Kotoba o hanareru (Kodansha Essay Award), and the novel Genkyo no mori.

Who Are Hanshan and Shide?

Hanshan and Shide were legendary figures, who were reputed to have been born on the holy site of Tiantai Mountain in China. Known for their strange laughter and erratic behavior, the two were also seen as “wandering saints,” who had awakened to the truth of Buddhism. Popular with intellectuals since ancient times, Hanshan and Shide were a traditional subject in Eastern painting.

Between the Kamakura Period (1192–1333) and the modern era, the monks also appeared in numerous Japanese paintings in a wide range of forms. Hanshan was traditionally depicted unrolling a scroll, while Shide was shown holding a broom. Since ancient times, Hanshan and Shide were also portrayed with the Zen monk Fenggan, who is said to have served as their teacher while they lived at Guoqing Temple. The three of them were also commonly depicted alongside Fenggan’s pet tiger in a motif known as the “four sleepers.”

Hanshan and Shide’s lifestyle, unconstrained by worldly concerns, was also the focus of modern Japanese literary works by Mori Ogai and Natsume Soseki. Despite their great erudition, the monks lived in a cave, and their eccentric behavior, including sating themselves on leftovers, attracted intellectuals who longed to escape from the reality of the secular world.