Minneapolis Institute of Art

(Flowering silk tree)

Kitagawa Saigyo

Date

c. 1830–43

Medium

Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Silk trees are a common sight in gardens and along boulevards in Japan. Their luxuriant foliage offers welcome shade in the heat of summer. Silk trees also produce elegant, pale pink flowers, as depicted here. Saigyo's rendering well represents their downy texture. Because its leaves close during the night and droop downward, the silk tree is popularly called nemu no ki or sleeping tree in Japanese. This unusual feature has inspired many poets who lyrically refer to sleeping trees in their verses about summer. Asia

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