I have been blessed to work on mounting several prints into scrolls for the Sanso Collection (山荘コレクション) owned by the late Peter Drucker. As I do not own any rights, I can not post the pictures themselves, but will share my own personal feelings as I get to work on framing these paintings and my connection to what these artists say to me.
The first print I worked on, is by Urakami Gyokudo (浦上玉堂). Urakami Gyokudo was a Japanese painter, musician, poet and calligrapher who lived from 1745 to 1820. While alive, he was a famed player of the zither, and posthumously as a painter. The specific painting I have worked on is titled, "Quietly Observing Summer Mountains".
It is a very large print almost 21 inches wide by 50 inches tall. In it there is a landscape painting with a man on a bridge. When I first looked at the painting, I assumed it was summer because of the dress of the man, and the prominent willow tree painted, which is often a symbol of summer. There is the usual stream running through the low valley and three peaks. What really caught my eye in this painting was a dabbed ink at the very top of the highest peak. I do not know if it is really anything, but to me is very reminiscent of the shape of the Buddha.
Now, I do not know much about the teachings of Buddhism, but from my Judeo-Christian background, I felt that Urakami is not just communicating the man observing his surroundings, but realizes that from his vantage point, he must find a way to enlightenment (in other words, climb to reach the Buddha) and seek a path along the rokudo.
I may be reading more into this than there really is, but that has been my impression everytime I get to see the print.
This was a scroll for a martial arts dojo on the East Coast. It had some difficulties in that the black cloth that was used, did not turn out alright. So I redid it with a different black cloth and the same result occurred. I was so frustrated that I ended up doing it on a gray cloth that I know would work. 
A scroll written in cursive by Yoshimi Ryugyoku Yamada and the scroll completed by Jonathan Maples.
This was a first iteration of the persimmon that was finished in monochrome. The customer said they wanted both. So this one is in a more formal Yamato Hyougu style with the fuutai. It was created specifically for a suiseki (viewing stone) in this individuals collection. He wanted the scroll large with lots of white space. I hope it does not overpower the stone.
This is the second Iaido dojo kakejiku ordered for a package. If you would like a scroll made, contact to sales@customjapanesecalligraphy.com or order directly from the site at www.shop.customjapanesecalligraphy.com
