The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Vertically long hanging scroll depicting a black-inked plum tree extending out from a rough-edged rock in the lower left, curving down, then up and scattered with small, white flowers against the beige background. Bamboo leaves flare out around the rock, with narrow leaves ending in points. From behind a cluster of smoother rocks in the lower center, orchid flowers arc alongside bamboo leaves.

Plums, Bamboo, and Orchid

1834

Yamamoto Baiitsu

(Japanese, 1783–1856)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
hanging scroll; ink on silk
Painting only: 172.4 x 79 cm (67 7/8 x 31 1/8 in.); Including mounting: 252.7 x 105.4 cm (99 1/2 x 41 1/2 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1975.93
Location: Not on view

Description

This painting represents three of the plants known as the Four Gentlemen of Chinese painting; it lacks only autumn’s chrysanthemum. The plants’ characteristics are symbols of Confucian virtues, such as open-mindedness (bamboo), strength in the face of adversity (plum), and humility (orchid).
  • ?–1975
    (Shogoro Yabumoto, Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1975–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 386 archive.org
    Graham, Patricia J. "Lifestyles of Scholar-Painters in Edo Japan." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 7 (1990): 262-83. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 277 www.jstor.org
    Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 79–80, no. 76
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).
    The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
    Later Japanese Art Rotation (Gallery 113). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 4, 2003-March 18, 2004).
    Scholar's Studio. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19-December 17, 1989).
    Suibokuga: Japanese Ink Painting. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 1, 1985-February 24, 1986).
    Year in Review: 1975. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 3-March 7, 1976).
  • {{cite web|title=Plums, Bamboo, and Orchid|url=false|author=Yamamoto Baiitsu|year=1834|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.93