鈴木春信画　桜狩|Young Man and Woman Caught in the Rain while Enjoying Cherry Blossoms (Sakura-gari)

Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1768–70 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Caught in a sudden downpour, a young woman covers her head with the long sleeve of her kimono and her male companion hastens to open an umbrella. The cloth spread on the ground near a cherry tree in full bloom indicates that they were hoping to enjoy an afternoon of merriment beneath the blossoms. The anonymous poem adds a dimension of sexual innuendo, because the word for “to be drenched” (nuru) also connotes sexual intercourse. It reads: Sakura-gari ame wa furikinu onajiku wa nuru to mo hana no kage ni kakuren. While searching for cherry blossoms, it starts to rain, yet even if we get drenched, we will still be in the shade of these flowering trees. —Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artist

Suzuki Harunobu

Date

ca. 1768–70

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