Description
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) Double oban tate-e, Tenmangu go Shinpitsu, Sugawara Michizane sitting on a buffalo in front of a plum tree in flower and his most famous poem. Signed Hiroshige hitsu. (Wormholes, freckles). 71,8 x 23,8 cm Sugawara Michizane (also known as Tenman-gu) was a scholar and a political figure of the Heian period. He was forced into exile in Kyushu, where he died, but his name was later rehabilitated, and a temple, the Dazaifu Tenman-gu was built on his tomb. Sugawara Michizane was an excellent poet, and one of his poems was included in the anthology Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (From a Hundred Poets a Poem). The poem written on the print was composed in 901, just before he left Kyoto for exile in Kyushu. It can be translated as follows: Kochi fukaba nioi okose yo ume no hana aruji nashi tote haru na wasure zo, When the east wind blows, bloom in full bloom, you plum blossoms! Even if you lose your master, do not forget the spring. It is said that the plum tree in the Kyoto garden uprooted itself and flew to Kyushu, and even today the tobi ume (flying plum tree) can be seen at Dazaifu Tenmangu. Reference: similar print in the British Museum, London, registration no. 1961,1111,0.1. Provenance: Former C. Schraubstadter (NY), Van Stockum Gallery, The Hague, 22 March 1952.
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Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) Double oban tate-e, Tenmangu go Shinpitsu, Sugawara Michizane sitting on a buffalo in front of a plum tree in flower and his most famous poem. Signed Hiroshige hitsu. (Wormholes, freckles). 71,8 x 23,8 cm Sugawara Michizane (also known as Tenman-gu) was a scholar and a political figure of the Heian period. He was forced into exile in Kyushu, where he died, but his name was later rehabilitated, and a temple, the Dazaifu Tenman-gu was built on his tomb. Sugawara Michizane was an excellent poet, and one of his poems was included in the anthology Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (From a Hundred Poets a Poem). The poem written on the print was composed in 901, just before he left Kyoto for exile in Kyushu. It can be translated as follows: Kochi fukaba nioi okose yo ume no hana aruji nashi tote haru na wasure zo, When the east wind blows, bloom in full bloom, you plum blossoms! Even if you lose your master, do not forget the spring. It is said that the plum tree in the Kyoto garden uprooted itself and flew to Kyushu, and even today the tobi ume (flying plum tree) can be seen at Dazaifu Tenmangu. Reference: similar print in the British Museum, London, registration no. 1961,1111,0.1. Provenance: Former C. Schraubstadter (NY), Van Stockum Gallery, The Hague, 22 March 1952.
