Poem-painting “When the nightingale returns...”
late 19th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
11 3/8 x 49 1/8 in. (28.9 x 124.8 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Professor Donald Keene, 2001
Accession Number
2001.611
About the Artist
Ōtagaki Rengetsu · 1791–1875
Ōtagaki Rengetsu (1791–1875), born Nobu in Kyoto, was likely the illegitimate daughter of a courtesan and the nobleman Tōdō Yoshikiyo. Adopted as an infant by Ōtagaki Teruhisa, a samurai and priest at Chion’in Temple, she received a rigorous upbringing blending martial prowess and refined arts. From ages seven to sixteen, she served as a lady-in-waiting at Kameyama Castle, where she trained in juj...