artemisdreaming:Ariwara no NarihiraLate 17th-early 18th centurySumiyoshi Gukei, (Japanese, 1631-1705

artemisdreaming:Ariwara no NarihiraLate 17th-early 18th centurySumiyoshi Gukei, (Japanese, 1631-1705) Edo period Japan Ink and color on silk, ivory jiku. H: 0.0 W: 52.0 cm Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Clark Freer Gallery of Art F1997.9Is not the moon the same?The springThe spring of old?Only this body of mineIs the same body… .Image and description via The Freer Gallery: “The poem written in the elegant style of Japanese imperial court calligraphers expresses the sentiments of the courtier who gazes longingly from the veranda. This painting illustrates section four of Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari), in which an unnamed courtier traditionally identified with the poet and romantic hero Ariwara no Narihira (825–880) returns to the site of a love affair that had ended abruptly the previous year when the lady had moved away without a word. Transience and melancholy are eloquently expressed through the setting: a chilly night just at the transition from winter to spring, when the plum trees are in bloom. Sumiyoshi Gukei belonged to a family of painters who had served the imperial court. His father, Sumiyoshi Hiromichi (Jokei), whose handscroll painting, The Tale of the Uji Bridge Lady, had moved from the imperial capital of Kyoto to Edo to serve the Tokugawa shoguns.  Translation from Helen Craig McCullough, Tales of Ise (Stanford University Press, 1968)  via: Freer Gallery.Queue Tuesday am -- source link
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