The Bird's Nest Patriarch, early to mid-1600s. Tawaraya Sōtatsu (Japanese, c. 1570-c. 1640). Hanging scroll; ink on paper; image: 95.8 x 38.7 cm (37 11/16 x 15 1/4 in.); overall: 187.3 x 50.8 cm (73 3/4 x 20 in.). Tawaraya Statsu’s painting was inspired by a 1602 Chinese book that featured images of legendary Chinese Buddhist experts and Daoist sages. The monk portrayed here is Niaoge, which literally means “Bird’s Nest.” He was a Zen practitioner who favored the isolation of treetops, from which he offered advice to the perplexed. The posture of the single figure suggests a dialogue with someone below. Statsu was a master of the “boneless” (mokkotsu), or un-outlined, style of ink painting that relies on layered pools of ink wash for effect.