Another Scroll Question?

[opr1945]

Why is there so much empty space on a hanging scroll? Approximately 60% of the surface area on this scroll is blank. You could frame the center part, hang it on the wall and have other space available for other things? (I know it would no longer be a scroll but a framed picture. That is the point.)

 

[Gyakuto]

It’s the Zen idea of emptiness/void…minimalism even, which adds to the expansive aesthetic of Japanese art. It’s also expressed in thebminimal use of brush strokes which often just suggests the subject rather than explicitly defining it. It gives that unobtrusive beauty characterised by shibui that seems to pervade all Japanese arts, even swordsmanship!

Contrast this with, say, Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’…it’s busy, full of activity that one barely knows where to look; it’s part of what makes it so special.