The Poet Mibu no Tadamine, from a set of album leaves illustrating The Thirty-six Poetic Immortals

early 17th century

Not on view

For the Japanese elite, poetry was the quintessential literary experience. Idealized and deeply admired, poets were often commemorated in portraiture. In the early eleventh century, Fujiwara Kintō (966–1041) selected thirty-six "immortal" poets from the past, and their images became a popular theme in the yamato-e painting tradition. This picture, originally part of a set of album leaves of the thirty-six poets, is attributed to Iwasa Matabei (1578–1650), a renowned painter who is often credited with originating ukiyo-e genre painting. Portrayed is the poet Mibu no Tadamine (act. ca. 910), accompanied by his famous poem of spring:

Is it just because
They say this is the day which
marks
The coming of spring that the
mountains
Of fair Yoshino are veiled this morning in haze?

—trans. Robert H. Brower and Earl Miner, Japanese Court Poetry (Stanford University Press, 1961)

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: The Poet Mibu no Tadamine, from a set of album leaves illustrating The Thirty-six Poetic Immortals
Artist: Iwasa Matabei (Japanese, 1578–1650)
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: early 17th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink, color, gold and silver on paper
Dimensions: Image: 11 1/4 × 12 3/4 in. (28.6 × 32.4 cm); Overall with mounting: 47 3/4 × 16 5/8 in. (121.3 × 42.2 cm); Overall with knobs: 47 3/4 × 18 3/4 in. (121.3 × 47.6 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: 1975.268.124
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

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In the same medium

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Attributed to Iwasa Matabei
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Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries

Poem by Fujiwara no Okikaze with Underpainting of Clematis
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Calligraphy by Shōkadō Shōjō 松花堂昭乗
Underpainting attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsu 俵屋宗達
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Helmet (<i>Zukinnari Kabuto</i>), Iron, lacquer, Japanese — Helmet (*Zukinnari Kabuto*)
Japanese
16th century

Poem by Onakatomi Yoshinobu with Underpainting of Hollyhocks

, Shōkadō Shōjō Japanese, Poem card (shikishi) mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, gold, and silver on colored paper, Japan — Poem by Onakatomi Yoshinobu with Underpainting of Hollyhocks
Calligraphy by Shōkadō Shōjō
Underpainting attributed to Tawaraya Sōtatsu
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