One of the one-hundred poets: The Poetess Ise no Taifū, Tosa Mitsuoki; Asukai Masaaki

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).