Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Flowering Cherry and Autumn Maple with Poem Slips
Not on view
These screens capture the two quintessential outdoor settings for poetry composition in the Japanese literary tradition: cherry trees in full bloom in spring and autumn maples at the peak of crimson brightness. There are no figures depicted in this painting—a device called “motif of absence” (rusu moyō), which allows viewers to imagine themselves in the painted setting.
Poem slips (tanzaku) hang from the trees. The poems brushed on them allude to various famous sites to view either cherry blossoms or maples, including Mount Yoshino, south of Nara, famous for cherry blossoms, and Tatsuta River, in northwest Nara, famous for maples.
The appearance of actual poem slips is painstakingly replicated. The calligraphy represents court styles of the day, and the deluxe paper decoration is carefully executed. The poem slips are embellished with thin-cut gold leaf and gold foil, and sport motifs of autumn grasses, pine, horsetails, waves, and shells, to name a few. Thirty poems, some partially hidden, appear on the poem slips; all are from imperially commissioned poetry anthologies of ancient times.
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This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
