The Poet-Monk Saigyo Gazing at Mt. Fuji

Artist/Culture Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 (Japanese, 1726?–1792)

Dateabout 1772

MediumWoodblock print, ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e

Dimensions67.6 x 11.4 cm (26 5/8 x 4 1/2 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineJohn Chandler Bancroft Collection

Terms

Object number1901.1187

Label TextKatsukawa Shunsho (1726-92) The Poet-Monk Saigyo Gazing at Mt. Fuji About 1772 Artist's signature: Shunsho ga (drawn by Shunsho) Woodblock print, ink and color on paper; nishiki-e; hashira-e John Chandler Bancroft Collection, 1901.1187 Saigyo was the pen-name of Sato Norikiyo (1118-90), a courtier and guard of the Emperor Toba who left the imperial court in 1140 in order to travel and compose waka poetry. The poet-monk is depicted with a bundle on his back and dressed in a black monastic robe and traveling hat. He leans on his walking stick while gazing at Mt. Fuji and the pine-grown shores of Miho no Matsubara. The pillar-print format serves to emphasize the distance and height of the peak. A poem by Ariwara no Narihira (825-80), an earlier itinerant poet, inspired Saigyo to compose a melancProvenanceJohn Chandler Bancroft, Boston, MA

On View

Not on view