One of the one-hundred poets: The Poetess Ise no Taifū

Tosa Mitsuoki, artist

1617–1691

Asukai Masaaki, calligrapher

1611–1679

One of the one-hundred poets: The Poetess Ise no Taifū, mid 1600s

Where object was made: Japan

Material/technique: silk; paper; color; ink

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 33.7 x 25.4 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 13 1/4 x 10 in
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 118.1 x 61.4 cm
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 46 1/2 x 24 3/16 in
Roller Dimensions (Width x Diameter): 66.1 x 2.5 cm
Roller Dimensions (Width x Diameter): 26 x 1 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Friends of the Art Museum

Accession number: 1978.0028

Not on display

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Label texts

The Tosa school is best known for its examples of yamato-e painting. The hallmark characterics of yamato-e (“Japanese-style”) seen in this painting include the thick application of mineral pigments, the stylized depiction of a figure dressed in the costume of the Heian period (794–1185), and subject matter derived from classical Japanese literature. Dressed in many layers of Heian court finery, the 11th-century poetess Ise Tanyu¯ 伊勢大輔 (circa 989–circa 1060) leans upon a lacquer armrest. Long, unbound hair—characteristic of Heian noblewomen—spills across the sumptuous fabrics of her kimono. She gazes over her left shoulder to contemplate a vase of cherry blossoms, the subject of her poem which is transcribed in calligraphic script on the left.
A member of an important literary family, Ise Tanyu¯ is considered one of the great poets of antiquity. When Emperor Ichijo¯ received the gift of a flowering cherry branch from Nara (the former capital), he commanded Ise Tanyu¯ to compose a poetic response. She obliged the emperor with a clever waka (a kind of syllabic poem). Her poem uses numerical puns to refer to the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms, the passage of time, and the movement of the capital from Nara to its new location in Heian-kyo¯ (present-day Kyoto).

Exhibition Label:
"Nature/Natural," Feb-2011, Kris Ercums
The Tosa school is best known for its examples of yamato-e painting. The hallmark characterics of yamato-e (“Japanese-style”) seen in this painting include the thick application of mineral pigments, the stylized depiction of a figure dressed in the costume of the Heian period (794–1185), and subject matter derived from classical Japanese literature. Dressed in many layers of Heian court finery, the 11th-century poetess Ise Tanyu¯ 伊勢大輔 (circa 989–circa 1060) leans upon a lacquer armrest. Long, unbound hair—characteristic of Heian noblewomen—spills across the sumptuous fabrics of her kimono. She gazes over her left shoulder to contemplate a vase of cherry blossoms, the subject of her poem which is transcribed in calligraphic script on the left.
A member of an important literary family, Ise Tanyu¯ is considered one of the great poets of antiquity. When Emperor Ichijo¯ received the gift of a flowering cherry branch from Nara (the former capital), he commanded Ise Tanyu¯ to compose a poetic response. She obliged the emperor with a clever waka (a kind of syllabic poem). Her poem uses numerical puns to refer to the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms, the passage of time, and the movement of the capital from Nara to its new location in Heian-kyo¯ (present-day Kyoto).

Archive Label date unknown:
The noted poet Ise no Tayū composed this poem one day when the Emperor recieved a flowering cherry branch from the former capital, Nara. The poem appears to the left of the painting:

Inishie no
Nara no miyako no
Yaezakura
Kyo kokonoe ni
Nioinuru kana

Brought from
the ancient Nara capital-
yaezakura
Today spread their fragrance
throughout the nine-fold [palace]

The poetess is making a numerical pun: "nine-fold" is a term for the Imperial Palace, enclosed within nine walls; and "yaezakura," literally, "eight-fold cherry," refers to the many-petaled blossoms. Also, she uses "ancient" and "today" together with allusions to the former Nara capital and the Heian capital of Heiankyō (present day Kyoto) to juxtapose the past and the present. Within this context of the passage of time, the brevity of the cherry's blossom evokes a realization of the evanescence of life.

Surrounded by a rainbow of color, Ise no Tayū is shown silently contemplating a flowering cherry branch. Her multi-layered robes were the traditional dress for court ladies of the Heian period (794-1185).