A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem

Uematsu Tôshû (mentioned on object), c. 1800 - c. 1805

Man en vrouw in hofkleding uit de Heian periode (794-1185) zittend bij een tafeltje met daarop gedichtenbriefjes (tanzaku). Met één gedicht.

  • Artwork typeprint, surimono
  • Object numberRP-P-1991-675
  • Dimensionsheight 134 mm x width 200 mm
  • Physical characteristicsnishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting

Identification

  • Title(s)

    A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem

  • Object type

  • Object number

    RP-P-1991-675

  • Description

    Man en vrouw in hofkleding uit de Heian periode (794-1185) zittend bij een tafeltje met daarop gedichtenbriefjes (tanzaku). Met één gedicht.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    collector's mark, recto, stamped: Lugt 2971

  • Part of catalogue

  • Catalogue reference

    • Goslings 151
    • Forrer 188

Creation

  • Creation

    • printmaker: Uematsu Tôshû (mentioned on object), Japan
    • poet: Harunoya Naritake (mentioned on object), Japan

  • Dating

    c. 1800 - c. 1805

  • Search further with

Material and technique

  • Physical description

    nishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting

  • Dimensions

    height 134 mm x width 200 mm

Explanatory note

  • Een surimono is een luxe uitgevoerde prent waarop beeld met één of meerdere gedichten gecombineerd is. Bij het drukken van een surimono werd vaak gebruik gemaakt van dikker papier, blinddruk en metaal pigmenten, zoals koper- en zilverpoeder. De prenten werden vaak in opdracht van dichters gemaakt en als exclusief geschenk aan vrienden en relaties gegeven.

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

  • Acquisition

    gift 1991

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; the dealer or collection Hayashi Tadamasa (1853-1906) (L. 2971);…; purchased from the dealer Kunsthandel Huys den Esch, Dodewaard, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1990;{Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 67, cat. no. 151} by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Documentation

Persistent URL

Questions?

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Uematsu Tôshû

A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem

Japan, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805

Inscriptions

  • stamped: lower left, in red ink, with seal of Hayashi Tadamasa

Provenance

…; the dealer or collection Hayashi Tadamasa (1853-1906) (L. 2971);…; purchased from the dealer Kunsthandel Huys den Esch, Dodewaard, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1990;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 67, cat. no. 151 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Object number: RP-P-1991-675

Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

Context

The poet Naritake is represented on various surimono in the collection, most of them designed by Gakutei in the 1820s (e.g., RP-P-1958-453). However, he also worked with Shinsai, see, for example, a print dated 1818 that he commissioned himself.2Keyes, Roger S., Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Prints in the Spencer Museum of Art. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1984, p. 50. In 1822, he published the kyoka collection Sokan kyoka awase (untranslatable), illustrated by Gakutei.3Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 68.

Entry

A courtier dressed in formal clothing decorated with floral patterns and wearing a court-cap, eboshi, sitting at a low writing-table, holding a poetry-slip, tanzaku. More poetry-slips on the table. Behind him a seated court-lady holding an open fan. A pot of brushes and two ink-stones for making ink, sumi, by the table.

The two figures are dressed in the classical court attire commonly associated with the Heian period (794-1185).

One poem by Harunoya Naritake [also Asane Naritake, a judge of the Honchoren].4Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 157. The poem alludes to the First Writing of the New Year, kakizome.

Issued by the poet
Signature reading: Agematsu Toshu hitsu

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 188

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Uematsu Tôshû, A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467495

(accessed 21 mei 2026 15:04:10 UTC+0).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 67, cat. no. 151
  • 2Keyes, Roger S., Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Prints in the Spencer Museum of Art. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1984, p. 50.
  • 3Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 68.
  • 4Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 157.