周の穆（ぼく）王の侍童（小姓）が、南陽郡酈（れき）県に流され、その地で菊の露を飲み不老不死になったという中国の伝説をもとに描かれた作品です。菊の露とは、河南省にある白河の支流、菊水のことで、崖の上に咲く菊の露が滴り落ちたその水は甘く、飲んだ者は長生きするといわれています。同じ伝説に基づいた能の「菊慈童」は、霊水の噂を聞きつけた帝に派遣された勅使の前で、菊慈童が不老長寿を喜んで舞う、というものです。
菊慈童の髪や腰かけている岩には、文人画などでよく見られる、かすれをいかした渇筆が用いられています。伝説上の侍童の神性を帯びた表情や佇まいを、自在な筆づかいで表しました。

From the Noh Play Kikujidō (1948)
ink and pale color on paper; hanging scroll
38.2 x 49.0 cm

This painting is based on the Chinese legend of a young attendant to the Zhou dynasty king Mu Wang who was banished to Nanyangqun, Lixian, where he gained eternal youth and immortality after drinking chrysanthemum dew. The term “chrysanthemum dew” refers to the river known as Kikusui [chrysanthemum water], a tributary of the Baihe River in Henan province. The dew from the chrysanthemums growing on the cliffs above the river would drip into the river, sweetening the water. Drinking it was said to grant long life. In the Noh play Kikujidō, which is based on the same legend, Kikujidō performs a joyful dance of eternal youth and longevity before an imperial messenger sent by the emperor who has heard rumors of the miraculous water.
For Kikujidō’s hair and the rock where he is seated, Kiyokata has used a brush that creates a blurred effect, a technique often seen in Chinese literati painting. He has used free-flowing brushstrokes to depict the sense of divinity in the expression and appearance of the legendary young attendant.