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Autumn Ivy

Ogata Kenzan Japanese
after 1732
Not on view
Born into Kyoto’s cultured merchant class, Kenzan was best known for his ceramic wares but was also a highly regarded calligrapher. Kenzan’s individualistic, expressive inscription of a poem referring to future winds scattering crimson leaves of ivy, recalls a famous scene from the tenth-century Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari), in which a courtier, exiled from the capital, encounters an itinerant monk on an ivy- strewn path on Mount Utsu.

Kakaru shimo
waga aki naranu
matsukaze y
chiru o urami no
tsuta no momijiba

Though not yet
winds through the pines
blow all around
and I dread they’ll scatter
the crimson leaves of ivy.
–Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 蔦紅葉図
  • Title: Autumn Ivy
  • Artist: Ogata Kenzan (Japanese, 1663–1743)
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: after 1732
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Album leaf mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
  • Dimensions: Image: 8 3/8 x 10 7/8 in. (21.3 x 27.6 cm)
    Overall: 44 7/8 x 22 1/4 in. (114 x 56.5 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.268.67
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
Square Dish with Spring Flowers and Grasses, Ogata Kenzan Japanese, Stoneware with polychrome enamels under transparent glaze (Kyoto ware), Japan
Square Dish with Spring Flowers and Grasses
Style of Ogata Kenzan
18th century
Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese
Helmet (Zukinnari Kabuto)
Japanese
16th century
“A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura), from The Tale of Genji, Tosa Mitsuyoshi 土佐光吉 Japanese, Album leaves mounted as a pair of hanging scrolls; ink, gold, silver, and color on paper, Japan
“A Lovely Garland” (Tamakazura), from The Tale of Genji
Painting by circle of Tosa Mitsuyoshi 土佐光吉
Calligraphy attributed to Konoe Sakihisa 近衛前久
early 17th century
Set of Five Camellia-Shaped Side Dishes (Mukōzuke) with Camellia Patterns, Ogata Kenzan Japanese, Stoneware with white slip under and polychrome enamels over transparent glaze (Kyoto, Kenzan ware), Japan
Set of Five Camellia-Shaped Side Dishes (Mukōzuke) with Camellia Patterns
Workshop of Ogata Kenzan
18th century
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

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