“Early Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge)
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The album to which these leaves originally belonged is highly valued for Tosa Mitsuyoshi’s artistry and the calligraphy by eighteen noblemen on uniquely decorated papers with gold and silver and stenciled designs. Ishikawa Tadafusa (1582–1650), a daimyo in service to the Tokugawa shoguns, commissioned the work. Its overall opulence and scenes of an idyllic Rokujō estate and childbirth made it appropriate for inclusion in a bridal trousseau.
To prepare for Emperor Suzaku’s fiftieth-year celebrations, here Genji stages a women’s concert at Rokujō. The Third Princess plays the thirteen-string koto, the Akashi Lady the biwa lute, and Murasaki the Japanese-style six-string koto. Beyond the blinds, Tamakazura’s oldest son plays the pipes, Yūgiri’s son the flute, and Yūgiri tunes the koto for the Akashi Empress, who leans against an armrest.
To prepare for Emperor Suzaku’s fiftieth-year celebrations, here Genji stages a women’s concert at Rokujō. The Third Princess plays the thirteen-string koto, the Akashi Lady the biwa lute, and Murasaki the Japanese-style six-string koto. Beyond the blinds, Tamakazura’s oldest son plays the pipes, Yūgiri’s son the flute, and Yūgiri tunes the koto for the Akashi Empress, who leans against an armrest.
Artwork Details
- 土佐光吉筆 山科言緒書 源氏物語手鑑 「若菜 下」
- Title: “Early Spring Greens: Part 2” (Wakana ge)
- Artist: Tosa Mitsuyoshi (Japanese, 1539–1613)
- Artist: Calligraphy by Yamashina Tokio (Japanese, 1577–1620)
- Period: Momoyama period (1573–1615)
- Date: 1612
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: From an album of eighty paired paintings and calligraphic texts; ink, color, and gold on paper
- Dimensions: Calligraphy: 7 in. × 8 1/4 in. (17.8 × 20.9 cm)
Image: 7 13/16 × 10 3/16 in. (19.8 × 25.9 cm)
Mat: 23 13/16 × 19 3/16 in. (60.5 × 48.8 cm) - Classification: Illustrated Books
- Credit Line: Lent by Kubosō Memorial Museum of Arts
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art