Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
Not on view
Imaginary portraits of Genji author Murasaki Shikibu had a precedent in images of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (died ca. 715), one of Japan’s greatest poets, shown on this writing box. Hitomaro leans on an armrest, immersed in thought, a pose first used in portraits of the author from the Kamakura period (1185–1333). His most famous waka (thirty-one-syllable poem), anthologized in the Kokinshū (compiled in 905), was prominently referenced in Genji:
In dawn’s first dim light,
my thoughts follow a small boat,
going island-hid through
the morning fog and mist
at Akashi-no-ura.
—Translation by H. C. McCullough
The interior is decorated with a scene of distant sails and the coastal pines of Akashi Bay.
On view from March 4–June 16, 2019.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.