The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 15, 2026

A vertically oriented ink and color painting depicts figures within a wooded landscape. In the lower foreground, five men gather; one in white raises an arm, smiling, while four others stand to our right. Above them, a man in a green robe stands on a stone bridge among dense, blue-toned trees. In the upper middle ground, a tan building sits on the hillside. Black calligraphy and red seals mark the top left corner.

Happy Forest, from Water Margin

late 1700s

Matsumura Goshun

(Japanese, 1752–1811)
calligrapher

and Amenomori Shōteki

(Japanese, 1731–1786)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Image: 137.8 x 41.3 cm (54 1/4 x 16 1/4 in.); Overall: 209.6 x 62.3 cm (82 1/2 x 24 1/2 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1986.95
Location: 235A Japanese

Description

The Chinese literary classic Water Margin is set in the 1120s and tells the story of 108 outlaws who first rebel against the government and then join forces with it. This painting depicts an episode in which hero Wu Song reclaims the tavern Happy Forest for its rightful owner, the prison warden’s son, Shi En. To prepare for the fight, Wu Song drinks a lot of wine. The painting was inscribed with a quote in which an ally describes Wu Song’s fighting style. It reads as follows:

Where his twin fists rise, clouds and thunder roar,
When his flying kick comes, wind and rain tremble.
  • ?–1986
    (James J. Freeman, Kyoto, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1986–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (February 1987): 38–79. Mentioned: p. 75, no. 204; Reproduced: p. 78 www.jstor.org
    Cunningham, Michael R. Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned: p. 86
  • “Bunjin” in Japanese Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 21, 2026-June 20, 2027).
    Unfolding Beauty: Japanese Screens from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 15-September 16, 2001).
    Asian Autumn: Splendid Variety: 18th-Century Art in Japan. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 16, 1993-March 6, 1994).
    Byobu: The Art of the Japanese Screen. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 1987-January 10, 1988).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=Happy Forest, from Water Margin|url=false|author=Matsumura Goshun, Amenomori Shōteki|year=late 1700s|access-date=15 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.95