Sei-shonagon Lifting up a Bamboo Blind (Translation)
清少納言図 江戶時代 橋本雅邦筆 絹本著色 (Primary Title)
Hashimoto Gaho 橋本雅邦, Japanese, 1835-1908 (Artist)
On a snowy day, Empress Teisi (r. 990–1001) is seated around the brazier with her court ladies and asks, “How is the snow at Mount Xianglu?” The court poetess Sei Shonagon immediately walks to the window and lifts the bamboo blinds. “Lifting the blinds, looking at Mount Xianglu” is a Chinese Tang-dynasty verse by poet Bai Juyi. The Rinpa-school artist Hashimoto Gaho captures the moment with masterful use of fine lines, ink washes, and vivid colors.
Kano School 狩野派
Nihong-ga (Japanese style of painting)
Edo (1615-1868) or Meiji period (1868-1912)
勝園雅邦筆 Shouen Gaho hitsu (Painted by Shouen Gaho)
雅邦 Gaho
Storage box: 清少納言圖 雅邦先生筆 (Sei-shonagon painted by Gaho); underside of box lid: 玉堂芳題 (Inscribed by Gyokudo Yoshi) with seal 玉堂 Gyokudo
Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Endowment
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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