Object data
nishikie, with metallic pigments, blindprinting and tsuyazuri
height 211 mm × width 186 mm
Yashima Gakutei
A Seated Warrior
Japan, Japan, 1825
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Kunsthandel Huys den Esch, Dodewaard, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1983;1 by whom donated to the museum, 1991
Object number: RP-P-1991-541
Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse
Copyright: Public domain
Context
The title of this series, Buke rokkasen, translates literally as 'Six Immortal Warrior Poets', but judging from the sound rather than the characters, it is more likely that it is meant to suggest something akin to 'Warriors from Six Selected Families'. The warriors portrayed in the set are more famous for their military skills than for their poetry.
The complete series is in the MFA, Boston.
For others of the series, see:
Minamoto Sanmi Yorimasa 2
Ota Dokan 3
Kamakura Udaijin 4
Taira no Tadanori 5
Minamoto no Yoshiie -6
The artist
Yashima Gakutei (1786?-1868), a pupil of Totoya Hokkei, was also strongly influenced by Katsushika Hokusai. He used the art-names Harunobu, Sadaoka and Yashima. In addition to his designs for surimono and kyoka collections - he was probably the most prolific designer in this genre – he was also a poet and writer as well as a great Sinologist.
Entry
A seated warrior reading a book, on a golden ground.
The General Minamoto no Yoshiie, Minamoto no Yoshiie, from the series Six Immortal Warrior Poets, Buke rokkasen.
The warrior is Minamoto no Yoshiie (1039?-1106), the son of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi (988-1075) and also commonly known as Hachiman Taro.
One poem by Fukunoya [Uchinari, also Kigairo and Fukunoya Fuji no Uchinari, or Fukunoya Tonainari, a pupil of Rokujuen who later founded the Shipporen].7
The poem reads:
Reading a military book in an inn during the Spring rain, he breaks the Abegawa rice cakes
Abegawa mochi, with Abegawa probably also alluding to the Abe family whom he defeated in the 1050s.
Issued by an unidentified poetry club
Signature reading: Gakutei hitsu
Literature
M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 431
Citation
M. Forrer, 2013, 'Yashima Gakutei, A Seated Warrior, Japan, 1825', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.432993
(accessed 23 November 2024 01:12:58).