Minneapolis Institute of Art

Chiryū

Utagawa Kunisada; Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Maruya Kyūshirō; Carver: Yokogawa Takejirō

Date

1855, 4th month

Medium

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Japanese have long lauded Ariwara Narihira, a high-ranking courtier who lived in the ninth century, as one of the country's six greatest poets. He is depicted here by Kunisada appropriately wearing the voluminous robes and black lacquered hat of a Heian period aristocrat. Narihira's colorful life and romantic adventures provided the inspiration for the Tales of Ise, a tenth-century poetic narrative, and Japanese artists have long pictured the handsome Narihira based on accounts in this text. According to tradition, Narihira was exiled from the capital when his mistress was chosen as an imperial consort. During his journey eastward, he composed many poems inspired by the landscape. At Chiryū, pictured above by Hiroshige, a mire of blossoming irises prompted Narihira to compose the following verse: I have a wife, familiar as a well-worn robe. And so this distant journeying fills my heart with grief. Asia

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