Minamoto no Raikō (Yorimitsu), from the series Six Immortal Samurai Poets (Buke Rokkasen) Artist: Yashima Gakutei (Japanese, ca. 1786–1868)

ca. 1827

Asian Art

By appointment, Duffy Study Room

八島岳亭 「武家六歌仙 　源頼光」 江戸時代


These prints [ILE.2017.30.45–.50] are from a set of the Six Immortal Samurai Poets, or Buke Rokkasen, one of Yashima Gakutei’s masterpieces. The seated warriors—historical figures from the tenth to the early fifteenth centuries—dominate the compositions against thick gold pigment. The kyōka poets of the Edo period whose verses adorn the prints would have been fully aware of the lives and deeds of these samurai soldiers. Among the five, Minamoto no Sanetomo (1192–1219), identified as Kamakura Udaijin, or the Minister of the Right in Kamakura, was perhaps the best known as a poet. The kyōka, full of both nostalgia and satire, show the poets’ complex feelings about samurai. Yet, they were grateful for the peace and prosperity of the country, especially at the new year, when poets reflected on life and looked forward to the year ahead.

Medium

Surimono, shikishi-ban; polychrome woodblock prints with gold and silver pigment and heavy gauffrage

Dimensions

sheet: 8 1/4 × 7 5/16 in. (21 × 18.5 cm)

Credit Line

Promised gift of Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian, B.A. 1970

Loan number

ILE2017.30.47

Geography

Japan

Culture

Japanese

Period

Edo period (1615–1868)

Classification

Prints

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Sale Sotheby's London 6/8/2004, lot 474; sold to Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian, Koenigstein im Taunus, Germany, 2004 (on loan to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2017–present)
Bibliography
  • Sadako Ohki and Adam Haliburton, The Private World of Surimono: Japanese Prints from the Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian Collection (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2020), 61–69, no. 12, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

color woodcuts, surimono

Inscriptions

Goryuen:\r\nIn this valley where\r\nI miss the scent of you,\r\nwhen the first intimation of spring stirs,\r\ndown will come the nets of mist.\r\n\r\nAH translation 1/23/2018; OK? 2/2/18\r\n武家六歌仙　源頼光\r\nBuke Rokkasen　Minamoto no Raikou (Yorimitsu)\r\n\r\nMinamoto no Raikou from the Six Immortal Samurai Poets \r\n\r\nPoem　ｂｙ　五柳園　Goryuuen\r\n\r\nkimi ga ka wo/ shitau tanima ni/ haru no ke no\r\ntataba kasumi no/ ami ya orosan\r\n\r\n君可香を　志多ふ谷間尓　春の気の\r\nたゝ者 か春三の　網やおろさん\r\n\r\n\r\nAH translation 3/27/2019\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Signed

Gakutei

Technical metadata and APIs

IIIF

Open in Mirador

View IIIF manifest

The International Image Interoperability Framework, or IIIF, is an open standard for delivering high-quality, attributed digital objects online at scale. Visit iiif.io to learn more

Linked Art

API response for this object

Linked Art is a Community working together to create a shared Model based on Linked Open Data to describe Art.