The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 17, 2025

Horizontally long white paper inked with thick, black Japanese characters that streak and splash at the edges (see "Description"). In the lower left corner sits a square, red stamp comprised of more characters. A thin, light brown border runs around the paper, decorated in winding lines in a slightly darker brown.

Clouds Follow Dragon

2008

Takaki Seiu

(Japanese, born 1949)
Japan, Heisei period (1989–2019)
ink on paper
Image: 97 x 170 cm (38 3/16 x 66 15/16 in.); Framed: 110 x 181 cm (43 5/16 x 71 1/4 in.)
Gift of the Artist 2011.18
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Takaki Seiu is a professor emeritus of Daito Bunka University.

Description

These three characters, read from right to left, convey the meaning that people prefer to follow an individual who possesses a considerate and warm personality—much like clouds follow a dragon, a motif found in classical East Asian visual culture and literature.
  • 2008–2011
    Collection of the Artist, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2011–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 96–97, no. 97
  • Contemporary Calligraphy and Clay. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7, 2024-June 15, 2025).
    The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 15-August 21, 2011).
  • {{cite web|title=Clouds Follow Dragon|url=false|author=Takaki Seiu|year=2008|access-date=17 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2011.18