Art Institute of Chicago

Clouds of Prince Genji

Shibata ZeshinLinkedCulture matchlcp-5d476df7f800

Date

summer 1885

Medium

Color woodblock print; surimono

Culture

Japan

Department

Arts of Asia

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Object ID

43719

This print by Shibata Zeshin was commissioned by the poet Hozan. Created two years later than The Cup of Long Life , it also celebrates longevity. Not only is Zeshin’s age prominently displayed (he signed the print: “the 79-year-old Zeshin”) but the occasion for the print is the commemoration of the 70th birthdays of a number of poets in Hozan’s circle. The print’s depiction of summer plants enclosed by stylized cloud banks references Tosa-school gold clouds and classical Genji images. These were favored by 19th-century poets, who saw themselves (if half in jest) as later versions of heroes from the classical age of poetry and sensitivity.

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