Ivy vines, bridges and floating fans è¦ã®ç´°éæé¢æµå³å±é¢¨
Tawaraya Sotatsu 俵å±å®é (fl. ca. 1600-1643)
early 17th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1902.102-103
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionEdo period (1615 - 1868)JapanJapanese ArtMomoyama period (1573 - 1615)bridgefan
About this artwork
The image of painted fans spilling off from a bridge into a stream evokes the memory of the legendary journey made by a fifteenth-century shogun traveling from the center of Kyoto to an outlying temple. While crossing a bridge, one of the shogun's servants accidentally dropped his master's fan into the rushing water below. Struck by the sudden poignant reminder of beauty's fragility and fleeting nature, all in the shogun's retinue followed suit, casting their fans into the stream.