Letter by Konoe Nobutada
- Person
-
作者近衛信尹
- Date
-
制作年 AD16
- Title
- コノエノブタダヒツショジョウ
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-000612-0000
- License
- CC BY Images license
- Creditline
-
慶應義塾（センチュリー赤尾コレクション）
- URL
- Classification
- Art
- AI Tagging
- Handwriting Font Monochrome Rectangle Paper
Konoe Nobutada (1565-1614) was a court official who lived during the Momoyama Period. He was born into nobility as the legitimate first son of Senior Regent Konoe Sakihisa (1536-1612). His initiation rite was held in 1577 when he turned 13, with Lord Oda Nobunaga assuming the honorary role of placing the headgear. Nobunaga gave the boy a character from his own name, and thereafter Nobutada was called Nobumoto, which was later changed to Nobusuke. Nobusuke was only 21 when he was appointed Minister of the Left, but he resigned from this office in January 1592 at age 28. In December of the same year, he planned to sail to the Korean Peninsula to fight in the Battle of Bunroku and went as far down as Nagoya, in Hizen (today’s Saga Pref.). Nobutada later incurred the displeasure of Emperor Goyozei due to a rivalry Nobutada had with Regent Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he was exiled to Bonotsu in Satsuma (today’s Kagoshima Pref.) in 1594. Ever since the end of the Heian Period, Satsuma had been Konoe family property, so he was received warmly by Lord Shimazu, the ruler of Satsuma. Nobutada spent his time in exile completely absorbed in art, as well as waka and renga composing and chanoyu tea ceremony. In 1596, Nobutada was pardoned and allowed to return to Kyoto; thereupon, he assumed the name Nobutada, by which he is traditionally known. In 1601, he was reinstituted as Minister of the Left and was promoted to Regent and head of the family in 1605. He died at age 50 on November 25, 1614. The posthumous Buddhist name Sanmyaku-In was bestowed upon him.Nobutada was thoroughly familiar with the art of waka, calligraphy and painting. In calligraphy, he was hailed as one of the ‘Three Brushes of the Kan-ei Era’, the other two being Hon-ami Koetsu and Shokado Shojo. This letter is addressed to Lord Enmon, a nobleman appointed to the sub-temple of Enman-In at Onjoji Temple. Yokei was the fifth son of Kujo Masamoto (1445-1516). Nobutada writes: “I received your letter but have been unable to reply since I have been serving at Sento Palace (the court of Emperor Goyozei). In the next few days, I’ll write the ‘Hakkei’ (lit. ‘Eight Views’) project that you asked. Thank you for the gift of persimmons that ripened in the Enman-In gardens.” The letter is rendered in a typical Konoe Style, which was also called the Sanmyaku-In Style. Most likely, it was written in Nobutada’s latter years, perhaps in his late 40s. (Notes: The ‘Hakkei’, or ‘Eight Views of the Xiao and the Xian’, may refer to a Chinese poem about the eight designated scenes in Hunan Province, China, where the waters of Lake Dongtin and the rivers Xiao and Xiang converge. Or it could refer to ‘Ohmi Hakkei’, the Japanese version of writing on natural beauty, which Nobutada is known to have originated and fashioned after the Chinese ‘Hakkei’.)
I received your letter but have been unable to reply since I have been serving at Sento Palace (the court of Emperor Goyozei). In the next few days, I’ll write the ‘Hakkei’ (lit. ‘Eight Views’) project that you asked. Thank you for the gift of persimmons that ripened in the Enman-In gardens.
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- Title (EN)
- Letter by Konoe Nobutada
Physical description
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Quantity 1幅
- Attachments
- 大倉汲水極め札
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