Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

柿本人麻呂像

early 1300s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)

Medium

hanging scroll; ink and color on silk

Measurements

Painting: 107.6 x 39 cm (42 3/8 x 15 3/8 in.); Mounted: 174.4 x 55 cm (68 11/16 x 21 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Herbert F. Leisy in memory of his wife, Helen Stamp Leisy 1977.203

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The landscapes at the top and bottom of the painting depict Akashi Bay, with its famous pines along the shore, and a lone figure in a boat.

Description

Among Japan’s greatest poets, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro’s (c. 660–724) portrait was often displayed at poetry competitions. Here, he gazes up at a falling cherry blossom, his writing box before him, brush and paper in his hands. A short biography and one of his poems are inked on painted rectangles meant to look like decorated papers. The first part of the poem has been mostly lost, but from what remains, it is possible to recognize it as

Dimly, dimly
in the morning mist that lies over Akashi Bay,
my longings follow with the ship
that vanishes behind the distant isle.

—Translated by Robert H. Bower and Earl Roy Miner