Sanseki (The Three Evening Poems): Teika, Jakuren, and Saigyō
Suzuki Harunobu, Sanseki (The Three Evening Poems): Teika, Jakuren, and Saigyō, ca. 1770, color woodblock print on paper; yoko ōban nishiki-e, The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection, public domain, 32.77
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Sanseki (The Three Evening Poems): Teika, Jakuren, and Saigyō
- Related Titles
catalog entry: An updated version of The "Three Evening" Poems: Courtesans as the poets Teika, Jakuren, and Saigyō
original language: 三夕 定家・寂蓮・西行
transliterated: Sanseki: Teika, Jakuren, Saigyō
- Artist
- Date
ca. 1770
- Period
Japan: Edo period (1615-1868)
- Medium
color woodblock print on paper; yoko ōban nishiki-e
- Edition
no other known impressions
- Catalogue Raisonné
Ukiyoe shūka v. 9, pl. 86
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
image/sheet: 10 1/4 in x 15 3/8 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
publisher's mark: 丸甚, printed in black relief within square, lower left Transliteration (Translation): Marujin ([seal of the publisher Maruya Jinpachi]) Language: Japanese
inscription: 西行 // 心なき / 身にもあわれハ / しられけり / 鴫たつ沢の / 秋の夕くれ, printed in black within cloud shaped register, upper left Transliteration (Translation): Saigyō // Kororo naki / mi ni mo aware wa / shirarekeri / shigi tatsu sawa no / aki no yūgure (Saigyō: Even one who has shed all passions / would be moved / by evanescent beauty: / snipes rising from a marsh / on an autumn evening) Language: Japanese
inscription: 寂蓮 // さひしさハ / そのいろとしも / なかりけり / 槙たつ山の / 秋の夕暮, printed in black within cloud shaped register, upper middle Transliteration (Translation): Jakuren // Sabishisa wa / sono iro to shimo / nakarikeri / maki tatsu yama no / aki no yūgure (Jakuren: Loneliness / is not / any particular color— / A mountain of black pines / on an autumn evening) Language: Japanese
inscription: 定家 // みわたせは / 花も紅葉も / なかりけり / 浦の苫やの / 秋の夕くれ, printed in black within cloud shaped register, upper right Transliteration (Translation): Teika // Miwataseba / hana mo momiji mo / nakarikeri / ura no tomaya no / aki no yūgure (Teika: As far as the eye can see, / no cherry blossoms, / nor crimson leaves— / only a thatched hut by a lagoon / on an autumn evening) Language: Japanese
signature: 春信画, printed[?], lower middle Transliteration (Translation): Harunobu ga (picture [by] Harunobu) Language: Japanese
- Collection Area
Asian Art; Graphic Arts
- Category
Prints
Japanese Traditional Prints
- Object Type
relief print
- Culture
Japanese
- Credit Line
The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection
- Accession Number
32.77
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
The Three Evening Poems are famous verses composed in the late twelfth century on the contemplative topic of Autumn Evening. Harunobu recasts the original poets as elegantly attired women, perhaps courtesans of the licensed quarter.
The woman seated at right, gazing out at the rustic landscape, stands in for the poet Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241), whose verse reads:
Miwataseba!T!As far as the eye can see, hana mo momiji mo!T!no cherry blossoms, nakarikeri!T!nor crimson leaves— ura no tomaya no!T!only a thatched hut by a lagoon aki no yūgure!T!on an autumn evening
- Exhibitions
2011 The Artist's Touch, The Craftsman's Hand: Three Centuries of Japanese Prints from the Portland Art Museum Portland Art Museum
2018 Suzuki Harunobu and the Culture of Color Portland Art Museum