Selections from the New Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times (Shinkokin wakashū) with Printed Designs of Plants and Animals, before 1615

Handscroll; ink and mica on colored paper
2003-94
Selections from the New Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times (Shinkokin wakashū) with Printed Designs of Plants and Animals

Interpretation

Kōetsu, a leader in the revival of classical traditions, became renowned for his calligraphic work and collaborated with artisans in areas ranging from printed books to ceramics, lacquer, theater, and tea. In this handscroll, ten verses from the anthology New Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times are dynamically brushed across the surface in a manner known as "scattered writing" (chirashi-gaki). The rhythm and intensity of ink allow the fluid characters to harmonize with the rhythm of woodblock-printed mica designs on sheets of colored paper. Among the motifs are paulownia trees, floating grasses, deer, dragonflies, and water.

Information

Title
Selections from the New Collection of Japanese Poems from Ancient and Modern Times (Shinkokin wakashū) with Printed Designs of Plants and Animals
Object Number
2003-94
Description

Calligraphic transcription of ten verses from the poetry anthology Shinkokin wakashū新古今和歌集 (presented in 1205).  Eleven sheets decorated on front and back.  Most sheets measure about 24 to 25 cm. high by 36 to 37cm. wide, about the same size as Saga-bon cover opened flat, and a center crease indicates they may originally have been used in a book format.  The third sheet is only 19.3 cm wide, and the two small black seals imprinted on the joints are missing between the 3d and 4th sheets on the back.  This indicates that third sheet has been cut down.  The eleventh sheet is only 28.8 cm. wide and does not bear a Kōetsu seal, which suggests this was not the end to the original scroll. 

On the obverse side are mica-printed designs of paulownia, floating grasses (ukikiusa), deer and trees, deer in mist, flowering plum branches, water and dragonflies, and bamboo and tree branches.  On the reverse are designs of baskets in waves, bamboo and tree branches, azalea, deer and trees, floating grasses, flying cranes, deer in mist, hydrangea, plum shoots, hill and stand, and deer with tree. 

 

Maker
Hon'ami Kōetsu 本阿弥 光悦
Medium
Handscroll; ink and mica on colored paper
Dates
before 1615
Dimensions
24.1 x 414.5 cm. (9 1/2 x 163 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund; Executive Committee of The Embodied Image: Chinese Calligraphy from the John B. Elliott Collection exhibition in Japan; and the P.Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Center for East Asian Art
Culture
Japanese
Period
Edo period
Place made
Japan
Inscriptions
Seals: Unidentified – (2) black square; black round seal on reverse
Type
Materials

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