Suzuki Harunobu

ca. 1724-70

Three Evenings: On a Verandah Overlooking Water

signed Suzuki Harunobu ga, published by Nishinomiya Shinroku (fl. ca. 1762-1829), ca. 1768

chuban 28.3 by 20.5 cm

This print is part of an untitled series illustrating Three Evenings, each composition with a rectangular cartouche enclosing consecutive verses that refer to the evening from section four of the Shin Kokinshu (a collection of waka verse compiled in 1206. The poem in this print is by Gonchunagon Sadaie (Teika, 1162-1241), who compiled the poetry anthology, Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each).

Miwataseba
hana mo momiji mo
nakarikeri
ura no tomaya no
aki no yugure

As far as the eye
can see, neither blossom nor red maple are there...
just a thatched hut by the shore
in the autumn at sundown

For poem translations and comparison with a complete set assembled by the British Museum, see Waterhouse, Harunobu and his Age, nos. 30, 31 and 32, where he notes the subject and compositions of the three prints are derived from a single page from Ehon Yamato hiji (1735-42), vol. I by Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671-1750), entitled Sanseki ittai zu, which is a composite illustration of three consecutive Shin kokinshu poems.

Exhibited:
Collected and Cherished, Japanese Art in Dutch Private Collections 1600-1900, Society for Japanese Art, Westfries Museum in Hoorn, The Netherlands, September 2nd - October 22, 2000

price: Sold