The Poet Mibu no Tadamine, from a set of album leaves illustrating The Thirty-six Poetic Immortals

early 17th century

Not on view

For the Japanese elite, poetry was the quintessential literary experience. Idealized and deeply admired, poets were often commemorated in portraiture. In the early eleventh century, Fujiwara Kintō (966–1041) selected thirty-six "immortal" poets from the past, and their images became a popular theme in the yamato-e painting tradition. This picture, originally part of a set of album leaves of the thirty-six poets, is attributed to Iwasa Matabei (1578–1650), a renowned painter who is often credited with originating ukiyo-e genre painting. Portrayed is the poet Mibu no Tadamine (act. ca. 910), accompanied by his famous poem of spring:

Is it just because
They say this is the day which
marks
The coming of spring that the
mountains
Of fair Yoshino are veiled this morning in haze?

—trans. Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner, Japanese Court Poetry (Stanford University Press, 1961)

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: The Poet Mibu no Tadamine, from a set of album leaves illustrating The Thirty-six Poetic Immortals
Artist: Iwasa Matabei (Japanese, 1578–1650)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: early 17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold and silver on paper
Dimensions: Image: 11 1/4 × 12 3/4 in. (28.6 × 32.4 cm); Overall with mounting: 47 3/4 × 16 5/8 in. (121.3 × 42.2 cm); Overall with knobs: 47 3/4 × 18 3/4 in. (121.3 × 47.6 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
Object Number: 1975.268.124
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Iwasa Matabei

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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“A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu), Iwasa Matabei Japanese, Section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan — “A Boat Cast Adrift” (Ukifune), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu)
Iwasa Matabei
first half of the 17th century

“Exile to Suma” (Suma), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu), Iwasa Matabei Japanese, Section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan — “Exile to Suma” (Suma), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu)
Iwasa Matabei
first half of the 17th century

Evening Mist” (Yūgiri), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu), Iwasa Matabei Japanese, Section of a handscroll mounted as a hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan — Evening Mist” (Yūgiri), from Collection of Ancient Chinese and Japanese Stories (Wakan koji setsuwa zu)
Iwasa Matabei
first half of the 17th century

Pictures with Letters, Iwasa Matabei Japanese, Fourteen figures on seven folded sheets; ink on paper, Japan — Pictures with Letters
Iwasa Matabei
17th century

Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute, Kano Tan'yū Japanese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, Japan — Jizō Bosatsu Playing a Flute
Kano Tan'yū
mid-17th century

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