Palindromic Poems (Kaibunka): Kyo

In the right-hand section of this triptych the actor Nakamura Tomijūrō stands in front of a koto. A cherry tree blossoms outside. The palindrome above reads:

Kishihi koso
matsu ka mikiwa ni
koto no ne no
toko ni wa kimi ka
tsuma zo kohishiki

As in times past,
waiting, the pine on the shore,
true as the sound of a koto's strings
you
are as dear to me as a wife.

This triptych of three famous onnagata Kabuki actors, each posed representing one of the major cities in Japan, cities that were centers of merchant culture, is a tour de force of work and image play. The poems at the top of each sheet are palidromes, poems that read the same forward and backward. The actors are paired with a domestic object that puns or alludes to the more idealized imagery of the poem: the smoke from an incense burner with that of a spring mist; the treasure boat in a New Year's print with distant boats on the waves; and the koto with a reference to the pure sound of the instrument.