鈴木春信画　将棋・三十六歌仙　「中納言兼輔」|A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)

Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1767–69 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

鈴木春信画　将棋・三十六歌仙　「中納言兼輔」|A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen) — Suzuki Harunobu

A young woman watches her male companion make the final moves in a game of shōgi (Japanese chess) next to an andon floor lamp signaling nighttime and a fan indicating summer. The series to which this print belongs links classical poems by thirty-six of the most famous poets of ancient and medieval times with up-to-date images of young men and women in fashionable garb. The ancient poem by Fujiwara no Kanesuke (877–933)—better known by his court title Chūnagon (Middle Captain)—complements the languorous mood of the image: Mijika yo no fukeyuku mama ni Takasago no mine no matsukaze fuku ka to zo kiku As this short night deepens, is that the soughing of the wind through pines on the slopes of Mount Tagasago we hear? —Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artist: Suzuki Harunobu
Date: ca. 1767–69
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Culture: Japan
Department: Asian Art
Credit line: Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939

鈴木春信画 将棋・三十六歌仙 「中納言兼輔」|A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)

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鈴木春信画　将棋・三十六歌仙　「中納言兼輔」|A Young Woman and Man Playing Shōgi (Japanese Chess); Chūnagon Kanesuke, from a series alluding to the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals (Sanjūrokkasen)