Untitled

Unknown

19th century · Paper, silk · Asian Art

The vignette at the lower right of this stencil (katagami) evokes the Noh play Matsukaze (literally, "wind in the pines"). Matsukaze, a lovelorn woman of humble status, pined for the return of her lover, the nobleman Yukihira, formerly an exile to the shores of Suma Bay, where she and her sister lived. In the second half of the play the spirit of Matsukaze dons a courtly robe and hat that Yukihira had left behind. Insisting that the pine tree on the shore is Yukihira, she performs a heartbreaking dance of madness and attachment to her earthly passions. The robe is seen here hanging from a pine tree, and the hat is on the ground nearby.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Paper, silk

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Horace Havemeyer, 1942