Five Sparrows on Bamboo, 16th century, Traditionally attributed to Sesson Shūkei, Japanese, 1504 - 1589, 37 1/2 × 16 1/8 in. (95.25 × 40.96 cm) (image)71 5/8 × 21 5/8 in. (181.93 × 54.93 cm) (mount), Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan, 16th century, In the 1500s and 1600s Japanese painters created works inspired by the Chinese Zen monk-painter Muqi Fachang (active c. 1210-after 1269). Sometimes they painted in his style, and other times they painted subjects associated specifically with him. This painting does both: the subject matter and the painting style hearken back to Muqi. Japans military rulers owned a painting of sparrows on bamboo by Muqi. This painting became well known because it was copied and distributed widely. Japanese people came to associate this subject with Muqi.