Suzuki Harunobu (Japan, 1725-1770) - Lot 3

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  3. Suzuki Harunobu (Japan, 1725-1770) - Lot 3
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Lot n° 3
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Suzuki Harunobu (Japan, 1725-1770) - Lot 3
Suzuki Harunobu (Japan, 1725-1770) Three prints, chuban tate-e, from an anonymous series on the Three Vesper Poems (Sanseki waka). Signed Suzuki Harunobu ga. 1766-1767 (minor restorations). Dim. 28.2 x 20.4 cm These three engravings are part of an untitled series of three prints illustrating the Three Evenings, each composition featuring a rectangular cartouche containing verses from the fourth section of the Shin Kokinshu (an anthology of waka poetry compiled in 1206). These compositions are reinterpretations of a print by Nishikawa Sukenobu (1671- c. 1750): Ehon Yamatoi hiji (1735-42), interesting evidence of Harunobu's debt to the master. Evening by the marshes In this composition, a man stands attentively reading a letter, while a woman at his feet holds a shamisen, an instrument associated with houses of pleasure. The poem featured here is a composition by the medieval poet Saigyo Hoshi (1118-1190): Kokoro naki mi ni mo aware wa shirarekeri shigi tatsu sawa no o aki no yugure Against my will, a a feeling of melancholy invaded my heart... on the marsh where the snipe flies away at twilight in autumn. Shin kokinshu IV, 362 (Kokka Taikan, Matsushita Daisaburo et al. 2 Vols. Tokyo: Kawai Matsudaira, 1903, p. 178) Courtesan reading In the second, a reclining woman is reading an album, leaning on her elbow, while another stands gazing at the horizon, pipe in hand. The poem shown here in the frame is a composition by the medieval poet Jakuren Hoshi (1139-1202): Sabishisa wa sono iro to shi mo nakarikeri maki tatsu yama no aki no yugure Solitude - even the warmth of color is absent... where the black fir trees grow, the mountains in autumn, at twilight. Shin kokinshu IV, 361 (Kokka Taikan, Matsushita Daisaburo et al. 2 Vols. Tokyo: Kawai Matsudaira, 1903, p. 178) Courtesans by the water Two women on a terrace projected over a body of water. One is seated, leaning against the balustrade, holding a pipe; the other is standing, gazing into the distance with the first. The poem shown here in the frame is a composition by the medieval poet Gonchunagon Sadaie (1162-1241): Miwataseba hana mo momiji mo nakarikeri ura no tomaya no aki no yugure As far as the eye there are neither flowers nor nor red maple are present... only a thatched hut by the shore at twilight in autumn. Shin kokinshu IV 363 (Kokka Taikan, Matsushita Daisaburo et al. 2 Vols. Tokyo: Kawai Matsudaira, 1903, p. 178. Reference: Two similar prints from this series are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession no. 34.348 & 11.19455. On these, the houses are Sukenobu repeats. Translations from Harunobu and His Age, D.B. WATERHOUSE, The British Musuem, 1964, London, pp. 100-105.
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