Poem by Ki no Tsurayuki (ca. 872–945) on Decorated Paper with Cherry Blossoms
Ogata Sōken Japanese
Not on view
Ogata Sōken headed a wealthy Kyoto merchant family that specialized in textiles, had close ties to the palace, and helped revive traditional Japanese arts in early eighteenth-century Kyoto. His crisp, elegant, and dynamic calligraphy shows indebtedness to the style of Hon’ami Kōetsu, who had revolutionized the art of brush writing in the early seventeenth century. Here, Sōken transcribed a waka (31-syllable court verse) by Ki no Tsurayuki and—to add an unexpected twist—included the poet’s name in the middle of the composition. It reads:
Hana no ka ni
koromo wa fukaku
nari ni keri
[Tsurayuki]
ko no shita kage no
kaze no ma ni ma ni
The scent of blossoms
has soaked ever deeper
into our robes,
[by the poet Tsurayuki]
as breezes come and go
in the shade of the trees.
(Trans. John T. Carpenter)
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