Tare o ka mo shiru hito ni sen Takasago no matsu mo mukashi no tomo naranaku ni
Who is there left that really knows me? Though the pines of Takasago have always been there, I cannot call them “friends.”
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
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With mounting, rollers, and knobs
Artwork Details
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鉄線下絵和歌色紙
Title:Poem by Fujiwara no Okikaze with Underpainting of Clematis
Artist:Calligraphy by Shōkadō Shōjō 松花堂昭乗 (Japanese, 1584?–1639)
Artist: Underpainting attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsu 俵屋宗達 (Japanese, ca. 1570–ca. 1640)
Period:Edo period (1615–1868)
Date:early 17th century
Culture:Japan
Medium:Hanging scroll; ink, gold, and silver on colored paper
Dimensions:Image: 7 15/16 x 6 15/16 in. (20.2 x 17.6 cm) Overall with mounting: 53 x 17 15/16 in. (134.6 x 45.6 cm) Overall with knobs: 53 x 20 5/8 in. (134.6 x 52.4 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Purchase, Gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, by exchange, 1979
Accession Number:1979.407.2
Signature: Tare o kamo shiruhito ni sen Takasago no matsu no mukashi no tomo nakanaka ni Fujiwara Okikaze Not even the pines of Takasago can be my long-standing companions. Who, then, will I make my true friend? Fujiwara Okikaze
(Shimizu and Rosenfield, Masters of Japanese Calligraphy, 8th-9th century [New York: Asia Society and Japan House, 1984], p. 236)
[ S. Yabumoto Co., Ltd. Japanese, Tokyo, until 1979; sold to MMA]
New York. Japan Society Gallery. "Japanese Calligraphy from Western Collections," October 4, 1984–January 6, 1985.
Kansas City. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. "Japanese Calligraphy from Western Collections," February 15, 1985–March 31, 1985.
Seattle Art Museum. "Japanese Calligraphy from Western Collections," May 9, 1985–July 14, 1985.
New Haven. Yale University Art Gallery. "Word in Flower: The Visualization of Classical Literature in 17th Century Japan," September 22, 1989–November 12, 1989.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Tea Ceremony Wares of Mino: Shino and Oribe," 1992.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Seasonal Pleasures in Japanese Art (Part One)," October 12, 1995–April 28, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," July 2–November 29, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Graceful Gestures: Two Decades of Collecting Japanese Art," 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Drama of Eyes and Hands: Sharaku's Portraits of Kabuki Actors," September 20, 2007–March 24, 2008.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Poetry and Travel in Japanese Art," December 18, 2008–May 31, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Beautiful Country: Yamato-e in Japanese Art," November 20, 2010–June 5, 2011.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic in Japanese Art," May 26, 2012–January 13, 2013.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japan: A History of Style," March 8, 2021–April 24, 2022.
Tokyo Kokuritsu Bunkazai Kenkyūjo 東京国立文化財研究所, ed. Nyūyōku Metoroporitan Bijutsukan, kaiga, chōkoku ニューヨークメトロポリタン美術館,絵画・彫刻 (Painting and sculpture of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) Kaigai shozai Nihon bijutsuhin chōsa hōkoku 海外所在日本美術品調查報告 (Catalogue of Japanese art in foreign collections) 1. Tokyo: Kobunkazai Kagaku Kenkyūkai, 1991, p. 93, cat. no. 276.2.
Carpenter, John T. Designing Nature: The Rinpa Aesthetic in Japanese Art. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012, p. 69, cat. no. 13.
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