The First Day of Spring (Risshun), from the series Fashionable Poetic Immortals of the Four Seasons (Fūzoku shiki Kasen)

Suzuki Harunobu Japanese

Not on view

A young man with a sword tucked into his sash looks up at a young woman in the doorway as he gestures toward a bitter-orange (daidai) tree in the garden. The artist puns on a classical poem by Fujiwara no Shunzei (1114–1204) that refers to opening the gates of the heavens (ama no to) by showing a young woman opening rain shutters (amado). The poem reads:

Ama no to no
akuru keshiki mo ,
shizuka nite
kumoi yori koso
haru wa tachikere

As the gates of
heavens open, quietly
a splendid scene appears
as spring arrives from
the palace of the clouds.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter

The First Day of Spring (Risshun), from the series Fashionable Poetic Immortals of the Four Seasons (Fūzoku shiki Kasen), Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725–1770), Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan

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