The Six Poetic Immortals
Kubo Shunman Japanese
Not on view
This collaborative work by Shunman and a group of poets is an imaginary “group portrait” of the Rokkasen, or Six Poetic Immortals. These were Japanese court poets described as the leading poets of the early Heian period (794–1185) in the preface to the classical poetry anthology Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū, ca. 905). Five men are seen gathered around Ono no Komachi, the sole woman in this venerable roster. This composition incorporates kyōka (witty thirty-one-syllable verse) by noted literati of early nineteenth-century Edo (present-day Tokyo): Shokusanjin (Ōta Nanpo, 1749–1823), Yadoya no Meshimori (1753–1830), Sakazuki no Komendo (active early nineteenth century), the artist-poet Shunman himself, and others. This type of painting was created spontaneously by poets composing verse at a public gathering.
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