Japanese artists are not bound down to the literal presentation of things seen. They have a canon, called esoragoto, which literally means an invented picture, or a picture into which certain fictions are painted.
Every painting to be effective must be esoragoto; that is there must enter therein certain artistic liberties. It should aim not so much to reproduce the exact thing as its sentiment, called kokoro mochi, which is the moving spirit of the scene; it must not be a facsimile.
It is related that Okubo Shibutsu, famous for painting bamboo, was requested to execute a kakemono representing a bamboo forest. Consenting, he painted with all his well-known skill a picture in which the entire bamboo grove was in red. The patron upon its receipt marveled at the extraordinary skill with which the painting had been executed, and, repairing to the artist’s residence, he said:
“Master, I have come to thank you for the picture; but, excuse me, you have painted the bamboo red.”
“Well,” cried the master, “in what color would you desire it?”
“In black, of course,” replied the patron.
“And who,” answered the artist, “ever saw a black-leaved bamboo?”