Minneapolis Institute of Art

Minamoto Toshiyori

Japan

Date

17th century

Medium

Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper (painting), ink and gold on paper (poem card)

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Before the Edo period (1603–1868), poetry writing was largely an elite activity. The extended period of peace during this era allowed non-elites like the merchant and farmer class to enjoy leisure activities, which often trickled down from the aristocracy. Because of their courtly origins, many of the respected classical poems were by aristocrats from the past, such as Minamoto Shunrai (1055–1129), also known as Toshiyori. His verses circulated in the form of printed poetry anthologies. Similar to the poet portraits in One Hundred Poets, Shunrai sits alone in an empty space, accompanied by his poems above. The painter imagined him as an old wrinkled man contemplating his next composition, in contrast to the idealized portraits in One Hundred Poets. The top of this painting features two shikishi poetry cards in pink and white, adorned with a dusting of gold. His poem reads: Many currents branch out from a tumbling cascade of a waterfall. Rocks stand in the midst of waves formed by rapid flows, which become an eternal river. Japan, Asia

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