Segment from Waka Scroll with Woodblock Prints by Hon-ami Koetsu
- Person
-
作者本阿弥光悦
- Date
-
制作年 AD17
- Title
- モクハンシタエワカカンダンカン
- Materials, techniques and shape
- Ink on paper
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
Hon-ami Koetsu (1558-1637) was both a calligrapher and artisan active between the late Momoyama Period and the early Edo Period. He was born into the Hon-ami family, which, for generations, engaged in polishing, cleaning and appreciating Japanese swords. Koetsu seems to have started his multiple careers in ink-and-brush writing and painting, makie (sprinkling of pictures on lacquer) and pottery-making when his father, Koji, established his own family line, breaking away from the main Hon-ami household. A reputed intellectual with artistic gifts, Koetsu was quickly recognized by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616) and was given an estate in Takaga-Mine (northern Kyoto) in 1615. Here, Koetsu established an art village where he created numerous fine works of art, some of which are national treasures today, e.g., Writing Box with Pontoon Bridge. He is known to have lived an enviable, leisurely life in his old age, enjoying tea ceremonies.In calligraphy, Koetsu first studied the Shoren-In School under Priestly Prince Soncho (1552-1597). Not content with the stylistics, Koetsu’s interest shifted to the classical Jodai School, under the obvious influence of China’s Sung Dynasty calligrapher Zhang Jinzhi (1186-1266; Jp. Cho Sokushi) and the Reverend Kobo Daishi Kukai (774-835), the originator of the Daishi School. The resultant style is characterized by extremely varied, yet elegant and decorative, rich and bold lines mixed with thin fine lines, a unique style that was later admired as the Koetsu School. It attracted numerous followers, such as Suminokura Soan (1571-1632), Kojima Soshin (1580-1655?) and Karasumaru Mitsuhiro (1579-1638), to name a few. Koetsu was one of the most distinguished calligraphers, admired as “Kanei-no-Sampitsu” (The Three Brushes of Kan-ei).This is a fragment severed from a handscroll containing selected poems from the Shin Kokin Wakashu（The New Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poems.）. The original poem was composed by Sugawara-no-Michizane (845-903) and is listed in Vol. 16 of the said anthology. The poem has an introduction: “Poem about a bush warbler.” The paper is decorated with a woodblock print of wisteria and vines drawn with gold and silver mud over which one can read the above poem written in Koetsu’s powerful bold lines intermixed with fine lines. There are groups of artworks that Koetsu produced in his 40s through 50s, copying poems from ancient anthologies on ryoshi paper with drawings rendered by Tawaraya Sotatsu (years of birth and death unknown). The brush-and-ink painting and writing blend in a most exquisite manner, creating an aesthetic world of its own. The exhibited piece is assumed to have been made when Koetsu was in his 40s or 50s.
It’s spring on the calendar, but warm sunshine does not reach this deep valley. The snow is all around and no singing of bush warblers.
Overview
Rights
Depository and ID
Components
OPEN DATADESIGN
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Details
Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- Segment from Waka Scroll with Woodblock Prints by Hon-ami Koetsu
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1幅
- Materials, techniques and shape
-
Materials 金銀泥木版下絵
- Attachments
- 外箱（二重箱）、墨書、巻止め
Provenance
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