Sei Shōnagon, from the series Great Women No. 3 (Daijo sanban)

Artist: Totoya Hokkei (Japanese, 1780–1850)

ca. 1828

Asian Art

By appointment, Duffy Study Room

魚屋北渓「大女三番　清少納言」 江戸時代


Totoya Hokkei, one of the best students of the prominent Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai, concentrated on producing surimono like this one rather than popular, mass-produced ukiyo-e; he was active in Edo throughout his life. Sei Shōnagon (ca. 966–ca. 1025), shown here, is best known for her essay, The Pillow Book (Makura no sōshi), written while she was serving as a lady-in-attendance to Empress Consort Fujiwara no Teishi. In it, Sei expressed private thoughts not meant for the public eye, and its straightforwardness has caused some readers discomfort. This image of Sei rolling up a bamboo blind references an incident in which she answered the question, “How should we view the snow on Mount Xianglu?,” posed by Teishi. One of the well-known lines of a Chinese poem by Bai Juyi, which the empress knew by heart, says that it should be viewed by rolling up the blind. Sei immediately rolled up the blind to enjoy the snow, showing her knowledge.

Medium

Surimono, shikishi-ban triptych; polychrome woodblock print with silver and gauffrage

Dimensions

sheet: 7 13/16 × 7 1/16 in. (19.8 × 18 cm)

Credit Line

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

Loan number

ILE2017.30.161

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
Joan B. Mirviss (dealer), New York; sold to Virginia Shawan Drosten and Patrick Kenadjian, Koenigstein im Taunus, Germany, 1996 (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), 113–15, no. 28, ill.
  • Joan B. Mirviss and John T. Carpenter, Jewels of Japanese Printmaking: Surimono of the Bunka-Bunsei Era 1804–1830 (Tokyo: Ota Memorial Museum of Art, 2000), 90–91, no. 43
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

color woodcuts, surimono

Inscriptions

Shiroi mono\r\nHakeshi toneri ga\r\nKao hoho ni\r\nKumoi no niwa ni\r\nFureru awayuki\r\n\r\nHiraki miru\r\nNeya no makura no\r\nSôshi made\r\nMurasaki tachi shi\r\nHaru no akebono\r\n\r\n“Imperial footmen, \r\nWith powdered cheeks,\r\nAppear in the courtyard\r\nOf the palace of clouds\r\nWhere light snow has fallen. Fukushôtei Tamao\r\n\r\nJust as we glimpsed into\r\nHer private chambers\r\nWith its pillow-book,\r\nSpring dawn had arrived\r\nDyed a purplish tinge. Fukuwatei Tomoyoshi”\r\n\r\nReference: Ota p. 90 (cat. No. 43), translation by John T. Carpenter\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPoem 1: Fukushôtei Tamao 福象亭玉雄\r\n\r\nShiroi mono\r\nHakeshi toneri ga\r\nKao hoho ni\r\nKumoi no niwa ni\r\nFureru awayuki\r\n\r\n--Imperial footmen, \r\nWith powdered cheeks,\r\nAppear in the courtyard\r\nOf the palace of clouds\r\nWhere light snow has fallen. \r\n\r\n\r\n志ろいもの　者けし舎人か　顔不ゝに\r\n雲井の庭尓　ふれる沫雪　　　　　\r\n\r\n\r\nPoem 2: Fukuwatei Tomoyoshi 福和亭友吉\r\n\r\nHiraki miru\r\nNeya no makura no\r\nSôshi made\r\nMurasaki tachi shi\r\nHaru no akebono\r\n\r\n--Just as we glimpsed into\r\nHer private chambers\r\nWith its pillow-book,\r\nSpring dawn had arrived\r\nDyed a purplish tinge. \r\n ”\r\nひらきみる　閨のまくらの　さうしまて\r\nむらさき立し　春のあ介保の　　　 \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nReference: Ota p. 90 (cat. No. 43), translation by John T. Carpenter

Signed

Go Hokkei

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.