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Waka Poem from Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern with a Design of Moss Ferns

Calligraphy by Hon'ami Kōetsu Japanese
early 17th century
Not on view
Overlapping fronds of moss ferns (shinobugusa) create a dramatic gold and silver background for a dynamically brushed waka in the distinctive style of Hon’ami Kōetsu, one of the most highly regarded and influential calligraphers of the early seventeenth century. The winter poem from the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū) is rendered in the scattered-writing (chirashi-gaki) mode, with staggered columns. It reads:

此河に　もみぢばなかがる　おく山の　
雪げの水ぞ　いまゝさるらし

Tinged autumn leaves
drift along this stream,
So it seems that the snow
must now be melting faster,
deep in the mountains.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 金銀刷檜絵忍草下絵和歌巻断簡　本阿弥光悦書
  • Title: Waka Poem from Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern with a Design of Moss Ferns
  • Artist: Calligraphy by Hon'ami Kōetsu (Japanese, 1558–1637)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: early 17th century
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Section of a handscroll mounted as hanging scroll; ink on paper with decoration printed in gold and silver
  • Dimensions: Image: 12 5/8 × 15 3/16 in. (32.1 × 38.5 cm)
    Overall with mounting: 45 1/4 × 20 1/2 in. (115 × 52.1 cm)
    Overall with knobs: 45 1/4 × 22 3/8 in. (114.9 × 56.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mary and Cheney Cowles Collection, Gift of Mary and Cheney Cowles, 2020
  • Object Number: 2020.396.18
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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