Haiku
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper, decorated in gold and silver
Dimensions
Image: 14 × 2 3/16 in. (35.5 × 5.6 cm)
Classification
Calligraphy
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Florence and Herbert Irving, 2015
Accession Number
2015.500.9.64
Art Historical Context
This delicate hanging scroll, titled *Haiku*, exemplifies the refined elegance of Japanese calligraphy during the Edo period (1615–1868). Created by artist Iwakura Tomonori, the work features ink brushed onto paper and accented with gold and silver decorations. Its modest dimensions—roughly the size of a narrow bookmark—invite close, personal viewing, a hallmark of intimate Edo-era literary arts. As a piece classified as calligraphy, it likely presents a haiku poem, capturing the era’s growing appreciation for concise poetic expression that blended nature, emotion, and seasonal imagery. In th...