Two Waka Poems
- Person
-
作者Emperor Go-Nara
- Date
-
制作年 AD16
- Title
- ゴナラテンノウニシュワカカイシ
- Measurements
- 32.2×44.8
- Materials, techniques and shape
- Ink on paper
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko) Campus Mita
- Ref. number
- AW-CEN-000241-0000
- 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
- Brown Vertebrate Leaf Branch Organism
Emperor GoNara (1496-1557) was born the second prince of Emperor GoKashiwabara (1464-1526) and ascended to the throne in 1526 to become the 105th emperor of Japan. However, since constant upheavals in the capital had depleted government funds to officiate his coronation, it was ten years before he was formally enthroned. Amidst the general political developments that precipitated the decline in imperial authority, Emperor GoNara was deeply aware of his role. In 1540, he hand-copied the Heart Sutra, praying for the salvation of his subjects from the famines and epidemics of the time, and dedicated each handscroll of the manuscript to the many Ichinomiya Shrines across the nation. The academically-inclined emperor had received private tutoring in Japanese and Chinese literature from Sanjonishi Sanetaka (1455-1537) and Kiyohara Nobutaka (1475-1550), and his enthusiastic copying of the classics contributed to the revival and flourish of literary pursuits.In calligraphic history, Emperor GoNara is listed under the GoKashiwabara-In School, and his hand closely resembles the brushwork left by his father.
詠二首和歌古哥丸山花しら雪と嶺にはみえて桜ばなちればふもとの雪にぞありける初恋なには江の藻にうづもるゝ玉がしはあらはれてだに人をこひばや
Judging from the size of the paper, this appears to be kaishi (folded Japanese paper), which was used by participants in poetry gatherings and contests of all sizes in ancient and medieval Japan. However, this kaishi is actually inscribed with two poems on the subjects of ‘mountain flowers’ and ‘first love’ by FUJIWARA no Koremichi (1093-1165) and MINAMOTO no Yoshiyori (1055–1129) from the poem anthology Collection of a Thousand Years (Senzai wakashū), and was created for an imaginary poetry gathering. The name written on the second line from the right seems to be a pseudonym, of which there is a precedent by ASUKAI Masaari (1241–1301), who wrote kaishi under the pseudonym Kakinomoto no Masataka of the Waka Poetry Bureau.
The calligraphy of this kaishi has been attributed to Emperor Go-Nara (1497–1557), which can be determined by comparing these poems to the handwriting he used to sign documents, and other works he wrote under his personal name Tomohito. The elegant handwriting of these poems resembles that of the emperor’s father Emperor Go-Kashiwabara (1464–1526), who was known as an excellent calligrapher. Emperor Go-Nara may have inscribed this kaishi for his son, Crown Prince Michihito (Emperor Ōgimachi, 1517–93) and others, as a work to copy from and practice calligraphy. The fictive nature of this kaishi imbues it with a high degree of sincerity, and it seems to convey a sense of benevolence and novelty that only a work in this genre of imperial calligraphy (shinkan) can provide. The beautiful underpainting in gold and silver, rare in calligraphy on kaishi calligraphy, seems to have been added later during the Edo period (1603–1868).
Description from the exhibition Catalogue "Letter-scape: Century Akao Collection, A World of Letters and Figures", Keio Museum Commons, April 2021
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Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- Two Waka Poems
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1幅
- Materials, techniques and shape
-
Materials 金銀泥下絵
- Attachments
- 外箱（桐箱）
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