The Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals

The Thirty-six Poetic Immortals are famous poets included in an anthology compiled by Fujiwara no Kintō (966–1041) in the early eleventh century. Throughout medieval times these celebrated thirty-six poets, including five women— whose periods of activity ranged from the seventh century to Kintō’s day—were often depicted in handscroll format. Imaginary portraits of the poets were accompanied by one or more their most famous poems, as a rule the ones originally selected by Kintō.

The delicate brush lines used to render the poets’ visages and garments do not reflect the usual style of Hōitsu, who usually emulated the bold and colorful of the Kyoto artist Ogata Kōrin of a century before. Nor does the elegant but timorous court-style calligraphy correspond to Hōitsu’s well-practiced, assertive, and crisp handwriting. The discrepancies are explained at the end of the scroll in Hōitsu’s own colophon. There he notes that this work was a careful tracing copy of a handscroll thought to be illustrated and transcribed by celebrated medieval monk-poet Saigyō (1118–1190) that was in the collection of a Mito official, most probably Tokugawa Narinobu (1797–1829), with whom the artist had a cordial relationship. Though Saigyō was not known as a painter, and the calligraphy does not resemble any other examples attributed to the itinerant monk-poet, undoubtedly connoisseurs of the era were willing to abide by this speculative identification. It is clear that Hōitsu was trying his best to emulate the precious poetry scroll, even to the extent of mimicking wormholes and other damage to the original.

Matthew McKelway, Silver Wind : The Arts of Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1828), Japan Society Gallery, 2012, cat. 36

Inscription: Signed: “Uge-an Hōitsu” with inscription;
Seal: “Monsen”

“This scroll of the Contest of the Thirty-six Poets is an authentic trace of the a painting and inscription by Saigyō. It now belongs to the library of the Lord of Mito [probably Tokugawa Narinobu (1797-1829)] I was given privileged access to investigate it and copied it, even though others are not normally permitted to see it. On another occasion, Hatakeyama Gyūan wrote the title slip, and now Sumiyoshi Hironao and Kohitsu Ryōban and others have seen it. It is a precious work of our land. Winter, tenth month of the kinoe-saru year of Bunsei [1824]. Uge-an Hōitsu.

—Translated by Matthew McKelway, Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hōitsu (1761-1828), Japan Society Gallery, 2012, cat. 36

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

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Celebrating the Arts of Japan: The Mary Griggs Burke Collection," October 20, 2015–May 14, 2017.

McKelway, Matthew P. Silver Wind: The Arts of Sakai Hōitsu (1761–1828). Exh. cat. New York: Japan Society, 2012, cat. no. 36.

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. 161, cat. no. 192.