print
- Museum number
- 1942,0124,0.10.11
- Description
-
Woodblock print. Scene from Ise Monogatari, Three gentlemen admiring the Nunobiki waterfall. Poem. Print no. 21 in the set.
- Production date
- 1772-1773 (circa)
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- This is one from a set of forty-eight small colour prints (also issued as a bound book) featuring poems and scenes from Ise monogatari (The Ise Stories), the tenth-century classic poem-tale (uta-monogatari) that focuses on the amorous exploits of a protagonist traditionally identified as Ariwara no Narihira (ad 825–80). Shunsho- matched each poem with a ‘letter’ of the Japanese syllabary. The Ise Stories became a staple of female education, but its licentious episodes drew criticism. With the accompanying prose of the episodes excised (as in this series), the text became more amenable to a new function: serving as a poetry primer for young women. The contemporary clothing seen in the print surely would have appealed to fashion-conscious viewers. Erotic parodies of the Ise Stories had already appeared in the work of Hishikawa Moronobu (d. 1694). [JM]
- Location
- Not on display
- Associated titles
Associated Title: Ise Monogatari
- Acquisition date
- 1942
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1942,0124,0.10.11
