Art

This pair of screens portraying the Thirty-Six Poetic Immortals is one of the earliest and finest surviving examples of the subject in the full-size folding-screen format. In compiling his roster of thirty-six eminent Japanese poets, the courtier-poet Fujiwara no Kintō (966–1041) sought to identify those who had been the most esteemed in the composition of waka, or court poetry. Two were famous monks, five were court ladies, and the rest were men of the court.

The leftmost poem on the right-hand screen is by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (ca. 660–724): ほのぼのと　あかしのうらの　 朝霧に しまがくれゆく　 船をしぞおもふ

Dimly, dimly through the morning mist across the bay of Akashi, my thoughts follow the boat now hidden beyond the islands.

The rightmost poem on the left-hand screen is by Ki no Tsurayuki (872–945): 桜ちる　木のしたかせは　寒からて　 空にしられぬ　雪ぞふりけり

Cherry blossoms scatter in the breezes not chilly, a type of snow flurries unknown to the heavens continue to fall.