Five Sparrows on Bamboo, 16th century, Traditionally attributed to Sesson Sh?kei, Japanese, 1504 - 1589, 37 1/2 ¡Ñ 16 1/8 in. (95.25 ¡Ñ 40.96 cm) (image)71 5/8 ¡Ñ 21 5/8 in. (181.93 ¡Ñ 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¡Vafter 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. Japan¡¦s 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.