Gotō Kyōu (1907–1973) 
Mount Hōrai 
Japan, c. 1945–1973 
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk 
Gift of Terry Welch, 2021 (2021-03-069)

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In ancient Chinese legends, immortals dwelled in remote places that were difficult, if not impossible, for regular humans to reach. The Queen Mother of the West, for instance—depicted by Hashimoto Kankai in another painting in this exhibition—made her home in distant mountains far to the west. Other immortals lived on islands in the sea; these islands rose directly out of the water, their steep cliffs preventing any boats from landing (even more fantastically, they rested on the backs of giant turtles, and were in constant motion). 
 
The most famous of these islands was Penglai, or Hōrai in Japanese. Kyōu here depicts Hōrai as a massive mountain that fills nearly the entire painting, rising directly out of the ocean through pine-covered slopes to a divine palace, beyond which an impossibly lofty blue peak rises in the background. Every element of the composition carries symbolism associated with immortality, especially the cranes flying near the palace. Cranes were believed to have incredibly long-life spans lasting thousands of years, and the only way immortals could reach Hōrai was by flying on their backs.