Minneapolis Institute of Art

Poem from the Collection of Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times (Kokin wakashū)

Calligrapher: Hon'ami Kōetsu; Underpainting by Tawaraya Sōtatsu

Date

early 1610s

Medium

Ink and gold on gold-decorated paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

These two poem cards were once part of a set of thirty-six such cards, which may have been pasted onto folding screens. The cards were a collaboration between the widely celebrated calligrapher Hōn’ami Kōetsu who brushed ancient Japanese poems on cards decorated by the painter Tawaraya Sōtatsu. Today, the thirteen extant cards are dispersed in collections worldwide. Both are well-known classical poems. The one written on a full moon reads: “In the harbor / where the waters converge / the waves are deep red as the / floating autumn leaves swirl and eddy.” And at the other: “The autumn moon shines brilliantly / upon the mountains / illuminating every / fallen colored leaf.” Asia

The authoritative record is held by Minneapolis Institute of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.