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
Rights
Public Domain
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...