A Young Man and Woman with a Shamisen; Monk Saigyō, from a series alluding to the Three Evening Poems (Sanseki waka)
The landscape beyond the railing of a veranda depicts the scene described in the accompanying poem. Two young people appear distracted and isolated from each other—the man holding what appears to be a love letter and the seated woman holding a samisen, a three-stringed instrument associated with the pleasure quarters.
Inscribed in the cartouche at the upper corner is a famous waka (thirty-one-syllable court poem) by the medieval monk-poet Saigyō (1118–1190) that reads:
Kokoro naki
mi ni mo aware wa
shirarekeri
shigi tatsu sawa no
aki no yūgure
Even those who hide feelings
will sense the melancholy—
of a snipe taking flight
over a marsh
on an autumn evening.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Inscribed in the cartouche at the upper corner is a famous waka (thirty-one-syllable court poem) by the medieval monk-poet Saigyō (1118–1190) that reads:
Kokoro naki
mi ni mo aware wa
shirarekeri
shigi tatsu sawa no
aki no yūgure
Even those who hide feelings
will sense the melancholy—
of a snipe taking flight
over a marsh
on an autumn evening.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Artwork Details
- 鈴木春信画 見立三夕 「西行法師」
- Title: A Young Man and Woman with a Shamisen; Monk Saigyō, from a series alluding to the Three Evening Poems (Sanseki waka)
- 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 1/6 x 8 1/4 in. (28.4 x 21 cm)
medium-size block (chu-ban) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Henry L. Phillips Collection, Bequest of Henry L. Phillips, 1939
- Object Number: JP2772
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章
late 18th century
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1769
Suzuki Harunobu
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1766
Suzuki Harunobu
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