women; men (male humans); princes; shores (landforms); trees; kimonos; boats
Prince Ariwara no Yukihira (818-893), according to the noh play "Matsukaze," was sent into exile at Suma, where he fell in love with two daughters of a salt-maker. After three years of banishment, Yukihira returned to Kyoto, leaving Murasame and...
men (male humans); women; kimonos; flutes (aerophones); horseback riding
Lady Kogo was a great beauty and the best koto player in the palace of Emperor Takakura, but when Prime Minister Taira no Kiyomori (1118-1181) became outraged by the Emperor's attraction to Kogo, she went into hiding in the hills of Saga. The...
The Hachiman Shrine at "Zither Strumming Hill" / Kotohikiyama gets its name from the Shinto god Hachiman of Usa, who reportedly appeared here in 703 to the sound of koto music. The hilltop shrine buildings overlook a beach famous for its many...
men (male humans); women; children (people by age group); kimonos; trees; flowers (plants)
According to a noh play, a woman from Mino Province had become a courtesan in the capital. Honoring a promise to a customer, she sent a treasured fan to Yoshida no Shosho, but because he did not respond, she went mad, wandering the streets and...
women; men (male humans); kimonos; trees; flowers (plants); swords; bodies of water; warriors; princesses
The 11th century warrior Omori Hikoshichi, according to the Taiheiki, had rescued Princess Chihaya, daughter of his former enemy Kusunoki Masashige (1294-1336). As Hikoshichi carried her across a river, he noticed in her reflection that she had...
men (male humans); women; Japanese maple; kimonos; mountains; trees; biwa
Fujiwara no Moronaga (1137-1192) was famous as a lute or biwa musician but unfortunate in his political career, as he kept running afoul of Taira no Kiyomori, who first exiled him in 1165 to Kyushu for 8 years and then in 1179 to Owari Province...
In these two illustrations of Murasaki, the artists have worked in very different styles. Masanobu uses the stylized clouds and bird's-eye-view of the traditional Tosa School of Japanese painting (yamato-e), while Chikanobu creates more...
children (people by age group); women; kimonos; musical instruments; lanterns (lighting devices); bridges (built works); zithers
The young boy Ushiwakamaru (later known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune 1159-1189) is shown in the garden, talking with a servant of Princess Joruri, who is playing a zither / koto. According to the 15th century Joruri-hime monogatari, Joruri was the...
When only eleven years old, Michizane composed his first poem in Chinese. The plum blossom was Michizane's favorite flower, and he would often write about its fragile petals and delicate fragrance. Here the artist has depicted the young poet...
men (male humans); flowers; swords; kimonos; boats; flowers (plants)
The young woman Miyuki met Miyagi one evening; she gave him a fan with morning glory flowers asagao, and he composed a poem for her about the blossoms, according to the Asagao nikki. In the morning they parted, although their boats passed at...
women; children (people by age group); kimonos; sandals; hairstyles; fences
As evening begins to fall, four children are playing outside a fenced compound by casting shadows in the moonlight. The pudgy boy in a light-weight cotton robe / yukata seems almost surprised by his hand shape on the ground. While his two older...
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (1646-1709) unexpectedly became shogun on the death of his brother Ietsuna and was noted for his efforts to clean up government corruption and public morals. Here he is shown boating in the Fukiage pond garden of Edo Castle with...
This later Setsu gekka series, which numbers at least 30 prints, is rather lyrical in its depiction of seasonal change. Flower petals flutter to the ground as a little dog tugs on its leash. Mist crosses a full summer moon as Niwaka Festival...
women; children (people by age group); kimonos; porches; blinds (coverings); hairstyles
A lady in a bird-decorated kimono stands on a veranda under a full moon. Her hair hangs loose over her shoulders and she has "moth wing" eyebrows painted on her forehead. A young girl beside her points to something out of the picture and looks up...
Meiji period color woodblock print depicting the Emperor Go Daigo, beyond a screen at night, joining the moon viewing and poetry reciting of court ladies and attendants at the Imperial Villa in Yoshino.
The oldest known Japanese narrative, this sad fairy tale dates back to the 9th or 10th century. In this tale Kaguya-hime was found inside a bamboo stalk by a bamboo cutter, who took her home and raised her as his daughter. As she grew up the fame...
A woman, in distress, is jumping in a river. The moon is setting and two white herons rise from the water near her. The story behind the image is: When her father lost his money and was jailed, Chikako tried to win his release. To prove herself a...
portrait; men (male humans); helmets; mountains; bays (bodies of water)
The warlord Takeda Shingen sits on a deerskin-covered stool wearing an ornate helmet decorated with antlers and flowing white hair; his sword's scabbard is made of tiger skin, and his boots of bearskin. Shingen attempted repeatedly to seize the...
Portrait; men (male humans); dresses (garments); armor (protective wear)
The warlord Uesugi Kenshin, dressed in full armor, waits in camp before battle. Seated on a deerskin-draped stool beside a blue and white windbreak, he looks over his shoulder at a flock of birds flying past a full moon. A poet, as well as soldier,...
men (male humans); women; trees; snow (precipitation); kimonos; sandals; hats; built works; stables (animal housing)
In the dead of winter, a Buddhist priest showed up unexpectedly at the cottage of Sano Genzaemon Tsuneyo in Yashu (Shimotsuke Province, modern Tochigi Prefecture). The impoverished warrior offered what hospitality he could, although recently he had...
