縹絽地風景歌文字模様単衣|Unlined Summer Kimono (Hito-e) with Landscape and Poem

Unknown

second half of the 18th century · Embroidered and resist-dyed silk gauze (ro) · Asian Art

This light, unlined robe (hito-e) is designed for summer. On a blue background, flowers and plants of the four seasons appear in landscape settings. Spring flowers are represented along the hem; above them we see wisteria and other summer plants; toward the middle appear autumnal maple leaves; and around the neckline and on the sleeves are winter pine-sapling motifs. The characters of a felicitous poem celebrating longevity and happiness make their way from the front to the back of the robe: [front] Toshi o iwau yorozuyo no kame Celebrating old age, turtles live for ten thousand years, [back] tsuru no ko wa chiyo o kotobuku hana nare ya and the offspring of cranes for a thousand years— flourishing in their long lives. —Trans. Monika Bincsik

Artist

Unknown

Date

second half of the 18th century

Medium

Embroidered and resist-dyed silk gauze (ro)

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Margaret Wishard, in memory of her mother, Mrs. Luther D. Wishard, 1974