百人一首　藤原元真|Poem by Fujiwara no Motozane (ca. 860) from the Series Thirty-Six Poets

Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1768 · Woodblock print; ink and color on paper with embossing (karazuri) · Asian Art

In this illustration of daily life, Harunobu captures a mother's affection for her child. While hanging clothes to dry on a bamboo rod, she follows her son with her eyes as he chases a chick. Looking over her shoulder, she then turns and reaches as if to restrain him. Shown in full bloom along the fence are white unohana flowers, which symbolize the fourth month of the lunar calendar, or early summer. Here, Harunobu associates the white blossoms and tenderness with a classical poem by one of the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets, Fujiwara no Motozane, inscribed in a cloud-shaped cartouche at the top. The lyricism of the poem resonates with the expressive quality of the mother-and-child scene: Blossoming now in our mountain village, the unohana flowers look like snow still lingering on the hedge. (trans. by Jack Hillier)

Artist

Suzuki Harunobu

Date

ca. 1768

Medium

Woodblock print; ink and color on paper with embossing (karazuri)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914