Untitled

Torii Kiyotsune

ca. 1768 · Left sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Here the actor Nakamura Kumetaro stands reading a book of palindromes in front of a window that looks out on a plum tree in bloom. The poem, a palindrome, at the top of the print reads: Oshima to mo tsui ni itsumo to yuku haru wa kuyu to mo tsui ni itsumo tomeshi wo "Yearn for me," it says, but somehow it has already passed, spring, the mists I thought still lingering have suddenly cleared.

Artist

Torii Kiyotsune

Date

ca. 1768

Medium

Left sheet of a triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1929