Tanabata Offerings for Improvement in Certain Skills in July, one of a set of five

Object Details

• Artist

  Ikeda Koson 池田孤村 (1801-1866)

• Label

  This set of five paintings (F1999.5.1-.5) by Ikeda Koson (1806-1866) depicts five ancient Japanese imperial court rituals (Gosseku) which had evolved from Chinese models during the Nara (710-794) and Heian (794-1185) periods. Elements of these rituals, sometimes referred to as the five sacred festivals, are found in contemporary Japanese festivals. By the late Edo period (1600-1868) The festivals had acquired multiple features beyond the original format but what the artist attempts to reveal in these paintings is the essence or distillation of the early Japanese court models.

  Japanese of the Nara and Heian periods regulated their lives on a lunar calendar and adapted many Chinese seasonal festivals. The first festival, Kochohai, (F1999.5.1) celebrated the event in which the crown prince and assembled nobles processed before the emperor on the first day of the first month. Next, Kyokusui (.2) celebrated on the third day of the third month, observes the custom of courtiers floating wine down a stream in the imperial garden; as the cup passed each guest would take a sip and recite a poem. This ritual originated from a more basic purificatory rite in which symbols of past pollution were cast upon the running stream. The festival of Ayame no Dai (.3) derived from the Chinese custom of hanging mugwort from eaves to dispell evil spirits. In Japan the iris was endowed with similar protective properties. On the third day of the fifth month, tiny roofed structures filled with iris leaves symbolozing a talismanic protection of the hall of state and the nation and were placed at the southerly corners of the Hall of State Ceremonies (Shishinden). The late summer feast of Kikkoden (.4) celebrated the once-annual crossing of the Vega and Altair constellations, known respectively as Weaver and Cowherd, on the seventh night of the seventh month. This celebration was replete with romantic connotations. Chinese women were said to have prayed for success in love and proficiency in calligraphy and weaving on this night. The painting here indicates a similar expectation on the part of Japanese court women. Because of its chronological proximity to the feast of the dead in Japan, it also became associated with certain purifactory rituals. Choyo no En (.5) derived from the Chinese custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine on the ninth day of the ninth month. In Japan this approximated the time of the rice harvest and thus took on the role of a harvest celebration.

• Provenance

  To 1999

  Naosuke Suematsu, to 1999

  From 1999

  Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Naosuke Suematsu in 1999

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Bold and Beautiful: Rinpa in Japanese Art (June 28, 2015 to January 3, 2016)

  The Arts of Japan (July 14, 2012 to January 13, 2013)

  Artists of Edo (November 19, 2005 to May 29, 2006)

  Surveying the Collections: Poets and Parties (July 2, 2000 to February 4, 2001)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Suematsu Naosuke

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — funds provided by the Friends of the National Museum of Asian Art

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Suematsu, Naosuke

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Art, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Kakemono

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Paintings