This painting of a Bird on a Snow-Covered Plum Branch by Saian illustrates one of the styles of ink painting popular in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. A singing bird perches on a snow-laden plum branch; the blossoms indicate the arrival of spring. A seal reading Saian is impressed in the lower right corner. Very little is recorded about this artist, who is known to have painted bird and flower paintings as well as scenes of hermitages nestled in Chinese-style landscapes. Saian was a Buddhist priest associated with the famous Shokokuji in Kyoto. The Shokokuji, which was part of the Five Mountain or gozan system of temples, played an important role in the introduction of the Chinese technique of monochrome painting to Japan. Some of the most influential artists of the Muromachi period--including Joetsu (active early 15th century), Shubun (active 1423-1460), and Sesshu (1420-1506)--resided, at least for some period of time, at the Shokokuji, and the styles of painting developed by artists associated with this temple had a formative influence on the art of subsequent periods.

The powerful and expressive brushstrokes in this painting--seen for example in the areas of wet (dark black) ink used to depict some of the bird's feathers and some of the buds on the plum tree--are characteristics often found in the art of Sesshu and his followers and would indicate that to some degree the elusive Saian was influenced by the most prominent styles found at the Shokokuji. Sesshu and his followers represent the development of a Japanese ink-painting aesthetic characterized by a sense of drama and an interest in strong compositional designs. However, the interest in immediately and intimately capturing a small slice of nature while still suggesting the inevitability of growth and change found in this painting by Saian also illustrates the continuing influence of Chinese aesthetics on the art of the Muromachi period.