The Four Accomplishments
Japanese artists also used the koto to represent one of the Four Accomplishments expected of a scholar, another tradition assimilated from China. In addition to music, the accomplishments included painting, calligraphy, and the board game weiqi (replaced here by the Japanese game sugoroku). In this painting, the artist has playfully shifted the traditional setting through the practice of mitate (the use of unexpected contexts) by portraying the Four Accomplishments pursued, not by scholars, but by courtesans of the entertainment district.
Detail, The Four Accomplishments. By Utagawa Toyohiro (1773–1828). Japan, Edo period. Hanging scroll; ink, color and gold on silk. Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1903.58.