猿猴捉月図屏風

📝ONGO's Reflection

This is a Japanese folding screen by Sesson Shukei, in which a monkey stretches out its hand to seize the moon reflected in the water. This is an old tale likening the folly of chasing what is empty. I feel that this painting awakens a person gently rather than scolds him. The moon reflected in water cannot be caught, yet we often take the shadow for the real thing and stretch out our hands. Before chasing anything, one ought first to ask whether it is substance or shadow.