Untitled

Katsukawa Shunchō

late 18th century · Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

This triptych recalls one of the most popular episodes from the tenth-century literary classic, the Ise monogatari (The Tales of Ise), a series of poems on love and journeying accompanied by brief textual notes. This episode tells of a young aristocrat who happens upon a place called Eight Bridges, where a river branches into eight channels, each spanned by a bridge. Admiring the lush growth of irises, he composes a poem of five lines, each beginning with one syllable of the Japanese word for iris, which immortalized the flower's association with the place. The poem expresses his longing for a loved one left behind in the capital: I have a beloved wife, Familiar as the skirt Of a well-worn robe, And so this distant journeying Fills my heart with grief.

Artist

Katsukawa Shunchō

Date

late 18th century

Medium

Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936