The Chinese characters „Ryû chi ryû“ (Ryû wa ryû o shiru - dragon knows dragon) in cursive script. Aluminum flake pigment in polyvinyl acetate medium on paper lacquered black, laid down on a wooden panel. Framed. Titled „Ryû chi ryû“, dimensions, dated 1990, signed Morita Shiryû and sealed Sei no ji and address on the artist’s label affixed to the reverse.

“Ryû wa ryû o shiru - dragon knows dragon” is a recurring important theme within Morita Shiryu’s œuvre since 1964. The phrase is interpreted as “To recognise greatness is greatness”. Morita’s pseudonym Shiryû translates directly as “dragon child” - evidence of the artist’s identification with the word and character ryû (dragon). The personal affiliation to the character’s form and meaning prompted Morita to revisit its calligraphic manifestation repeatedly, and works containing the ryû character are the artist’s most iconic and sought-after, housed in institutional collections including the Art Institute of Chicago.