Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Poem by Kiyowara no Fukayabu with Design of Wisteria
Calligraphy by Hon'ami Kōetsu Japanese
Not on view
Koishinaba
ta ga na wa tataji
yo no naka no
tsune naki mono to
ii wa nasu to mo
If I die of a broken heart,
no other name than yours
will be raised in blame,
but no doubt you’ll just say,
“That’s life: nothing lasts forever.”
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Note that the poem is inscribed using the “scattered writing” (chirashigaki) technique, so it begins at the middle with the boldly brushed characters making up the phrase koishinaba (literally, “to die from love”). The column to the left is read next, and then the reader must move to the far right to read the final lines.
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