Accession Number
2003/1.396

Title
Three Poets (including Hitomaro and Saigû Nyôgo), with Poetic Inscriptions

Artist(s)
Arai Seihô

Object Creation Date
mid 19th century

Medium & Support
hanging scroll, ink, color and gold on silk

Dimensions
41 1/8 in x 18 1/4 in (104.46 cm x 46.36 cm);3 3/4 in x 25 7/8 in x 3 9/16 in (9.53 cm x 65.72 cm x 9.05 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Helmut Stern

Subject matter
Depictions of the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (a selection of poets from the Asuka, Nara and Heian periods that were grouped together by Fujiwara no Kintō as representing the height of Japanese poetic expression) were common begining from the start of the Kamakura period, and continued to be a popular subject for paintings and prints throughout Japanese history. Two of the three figures in this painting are identified as belonging to the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, specifically the Heian period aristocratic woman Saigū Nyōgo (also known as Kishi Joō; 929-985) and the Asuka period poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaru (after 645- before 710). Both of these figures are shown with their standard iconography, with Saigū Nyōgo seated behind a curtain, and Hitomaru as an elderly man holding a brush. 

 

Physical Description
This is a hanging scroll that includes three caligraphic inscriptions at the top, and depicts three figures. The caligraphy is inscribed on three squares of colored paper (red, white and green) decorated with an abstracted pattern of clouds painted in gold. The figure at the top of of the composition is a woman dressed in bright, patterned robes. She is seated behind a curtain that separates her from the two men in the lower half of the painting. The man closest to her appears older, and is seated by a box holding brushes and other tools for calipgraphy, and holds a brush and sheaf of paper. The third figure is seated in the lower left corner of the painting, and, like the other figures, wears voluminous robes, although his are less ornately patterend. In the bottom right corner of the painting is the artist's signature and red seal.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Additional Object Classification(s)
Painting

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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