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

ca. 1768

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

Artwork Details

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Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

鈴木春信画「風俗四季歌仙　立春」
Title: The First Day of Spring (Risshun), from the series Fashionable Poetic Immortals of the Four Seasons (Fūzoku shiki Kasen)
Artist: Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725–1770)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: ca. 1768
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/4 in. (27.9 x 21 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939
Object Number: JP2776
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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First Leaf of the Shunga; The Delightful Love Adventures of Maneyemon, Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — First Leaf of the Shunga; The Delightful Love Adventures of Maneyemon
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