Three Poems from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū), one of the Araki Fragments (Araki-gire)

The three poems inscribed on this sheet are from a version of the Kokin wakashū (A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern). Presented in the year 905, the original work was the first imperially sponsored anthology of Japanese poetry. The appearance of this work, known also as the Kokinshū, signals official acceptance of Japanese verse as literature.
The book from which this page was separated is called the Arakigire (Araki Fragment), having once belonged to the calligrapher Araki Sohaku (1600-1685). The calligraphy, traditionally ascribed both to Fujiwara Yukinari (Kōzei, 972-1027) and to Fugiwara Kin to (966- 1041), is now attributed to an anonymous artist from the latter half of the eleventh century. It is characterized by tightly formed, rounded characters rendered in a fluent, continuous line that inclines to the right, the brush seldom lifted from the paper; the entire second line from the right, for example, was written in one continuous sweep. A lively sense of movement and spontaneity is created by the spaces left between the titles and the poets' names.
The paper is known as kumogami (cloud paper), as the indigo dye, combined with the paper pulp, produces blue cloudlike patterns on the sheet. In its original format the Araki gire was composed of a variety of papers, including pages made from imported Chinese paper with mica-printed designs and other decorated surfaces.
The page includes three poems and, in two cases, the titles and names of the poets. The first (reading from right to left) is by Takamuko no Toshiharu (fl. ca. 890-930). Its title, "Hanging Moss," and the name of the author are missing, as they were inscribed on the facing, right-hand page. The author of the second poem, "Long-Jointed Bamboo," is Ariwara no Shigeharu (died ca. 905), the son of Ariwara no Narihira (825-880), a colorful literary figure of the Early Heian period. And the author of "Mushroom" is Kagenori no Ōkimi (fl. late 9th century).

450
Sagarigoke Hana no iro wa tada hito sakari kokeredomo
kaesu gaesu zo tsuyu wa some keru
Hanging Moss
Only briefly do the autumn grasses
display their beauties,
yet each night the dew has come
to dye the petals deeper colors.
451
Nigatake
Inochi tote tsuyu o tanomu ni katakereba
mono wabi shira ni naku nobe no mushi
Long-Jointed Bamboo
Difficult it is to depend upon sips of dew
to sustain one's life, so anxiously they pipe long
lonely hours, insects of the fields.
452
Kawatake
Sayo Juke te nakabatake yuku hisakata no
tsukifukikaese aki no yamakaze
Mushroom
Already the moon has half climbed
the celestial dome as night grows old—oh autumn wind
from the peaks
blows it backward on its course.[1]
[Miyeko Murase 2000, Bridge of Dreams]

Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation , New York (until 2015; donated to MMA)

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 of Japanese Art from The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," March 30–June 25, 2000.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated," March 5–June 16, 2019.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Japan: A History of Style," March 8, 2021–April 24, 2022.

Murase, Miyeko, Il Kim, Shi-yee Liu, Gratia Williams Nakahashi, Stephanie Wada, Soyoung Lee, and David Sensabaugh. Art Through a Lifetime: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection. Vol. 1, Japanese Paintings, Printed Works, Calligraphy. [New York]: Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, [2013], p. 411, cat. no. 509.