Poems by Thirty-Six Immortal Poets

Object Details

• Artist

  Hon'ami Koetsu 本阿弥光悦 (1558-1637)

• Description

  Verses by each of thirty-six master poets are inscribed on decorated sheets mounted in a folding album. Each leaf is hand painted with a different design in gold on a shimmering mica-coated background. Over these designs the calligrapher Koetsu, whose work was greatly admired by Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), has written famous verses. His distinctive calligraphic style, combining fluidity with strong control of composition and internal structure, is apparent in this work. The slight tremulous brushwork indicates tht this album was created late in Koetsu's life.

  A poem composed by Mibu no Tadamine (died ca. 920) is inscribed over the design of rocks among waves:

  As the years pass, the white mountains grow older,/gathering the snow of many winters.

• Inscriptions

  A poem composed by Mibu no Tadamine (died ca. 920) is inscribed over the design of rocks among waves:

• Label

  Verses by each of thirty-six master poets are inscribed on decorated sheets mounted in a folding album. Each leaf is hand painted with a different design in gold on a shimmering mica-coated background. Over these designs the calligrapher Koetsu, whose work was greatly admired by Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), has written famous verses. His distinctive calligraphic style, combining fluidity with strong control of composition and internal structure, is apparent in this work. The slight tremulous brushwork indicates that this album was created late in Koetsu's life.

  A poem composed by Mibu no Tadamine (died ca. 920) is inscribed over the design of rocks among waves:

  As the years pass, the white mountains grow older

  gathering the snow of many winters.

• Provenance

  By 1971-1975

  Takashi YANAGI, Kyoto, Japan, method of acquisition unknown [1]

  From 1975

  National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, purchased from Takashi YANAGI, Kyoto, Japan [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See object file for copy of Smithsonian Institution, Freer Gallery of Art vault record no. V45.71, indicating that the object was sent by Takashi Yanagi and arrived at the Freer on April 14, 1971 for examination. Also in object file, see copies of April 9, 1973 and August 17, 1974 letters from Director Harold P. Stern to Yanagi, discussing the object which remained at the Freer until its purchase.

  Takashi YANAGI (1938-2021), of Takashi Yanagi Oriental Fine Arts in Kyoto, Japan was an important dealer of Asian art. His gallery was also known as T. Yanagi Antique Art, and his son Kōichi (1965-2022), opened his eponymous gallery, Kōichi Yanagi Oriental Fine Art, in New York City in 1991. Takashi had two brothers who also carried on the family business of dealing in art, with his brother Shigehiko operating a shop opposite his own in Kyoto. This location was also near the Kyoto home of Yabumoto Sōshirō. Takashi and Shigehiko had a younger brother, Hiroshe, who collaborated several times in the 1990s with Takashi’s son Kōichi, at the International Asian Art Fair at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.

  [2] See object file for copy of Takashi YANAGI invoice to the Freer Gallery of Art, dated August 29, 1975 and approved by the Secretary of the Smithsonian May 26, 1972. This object is a part of the Museum’s Freer Gallery of Art Collection.

  Research updated August 15, 2024

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Seasons: Arts of Japan (February 5, 2011 to January 13, 2013)

  Japanese Art in the Age of Koetsu (June 6, 1998 to February 15, 1999)

  Japanese Art (April 13 to November 21, 1995)

  Japanese Calligraphy (April 18, 1977 to September 13, 1977)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Takashi Yanagi

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Calligraphy

• 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, 1600s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Takashi, Yanagi

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Japanese

• Object Type

  Calligraphy (visual works)