Mt. Fuji through Pines

late 1700s-early 1800s

Kubo Shunman 窪俊満

(Japanese, 1757–1820)

Culture

Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

Medium

hanging scroll, ink and color on silk

Measurements

Painting only: 90 x 30.8 cm (35 7/16 x 12 1/8 in.); Including mounting: 183.5 x 49.5 cm (72 1/4 x 19 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Kelvin Smith Fund 1995.18

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Location

Not on view

Description

Kubo Shunman dashed off this loose image of Mt. Fuji viewed in the distance from behind pine trees as a performance painting, or sekiga. He did it on the spot in the company of members of his poetry club. Six of them, including the club's founder Yadoya no Meshimori (Rokujuen, 1753–1830), added kyoka poems, 31-syllable poems like the classical Japanese waka poem in form, but with a heavy emphasis on humor. Shunman jotted down a poem as well, in the bottom right corner of the painting, before signing and sealing it. Each poem takes the painted image as its point of departure.