“Mount Utsu” (Utsu no yama), from The Tales of Ise (Ise monogatari)
Medium
Poem card (shikishi) mounted as a hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on paper
Dimensions
Image: 9 11/16 × 8 3/16 in. (24.6 × 20.8 cm) Overall with mounting: 49 5/16 × 16 11/16 in. (125.3 × 42.4 cm) Overall with knobs: 49 5/16 × 18 3/8 in. (125.3 × 46.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Accession Number
2015.300.88
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled within the poetic world of *The Tales of Ise (*Ise monogatari*), a 10th-century Japanese anthology of love, travel, and courtly life, this artwork illustrates the episode "Mount Utsu" (*Utsu no yama*). Created around 1634 during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868), it captures a dramatic moment where the protagonist Ariwara no Narihira and his companions encounter a mysterious woman amid rugged mountains—evident in the tags of horses and men traversing the landscape. Tawaraya Sōtatsu, a pioneering artist of the Rinpa school, is credited with the vivid painting, while Takeuchi Toshiharu like...