伝藤原行筆　「関戸本古今集切」|Page from the Sekido-bon Version of the “Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern” (Sekido-bon Kokinshū

Fujiwara no Yukinari 藤原行成

mid- to late 11th century · Page from a bound booklet mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on dyed paper · Asian Art

A thirty-one-syllable poem on early spring appears inscribed on blue-dyed paper in an elegant, flowing script—mostly kana. It is from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū), the first imperially commissioned anthology of waka, compiled around 905 by the courtier-poet Ki no Tsurayuki. This page, remounted as a hanging scroll, was once bound into an edition known as the Sekido-bon, with pages dyed various colors. The poem reads: くるとあくと めかぬものを むめの花 いつの人まに うつろひむ「ら」む At dusk and dawn, I could not stop gazing upon the plum blossoms— so when was the moment they started to fade?

Artist

Fujiwara no Yukinari 藤原行成

Date

mid- to late 11th century

Medium

Page from a bound booklet mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on dyed paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2020