Title : Autumn Wind, after the Poem by Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

Artist : Suzuki Harunobu

Date : Late 1760s

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : The girl stands on her veranda after a late afternoon bath. The poem above her reads: Though nothing showed Too clearly to my eyes That fall had come I was startled By the sound of the autumn wind. The verse, by Fujiwara Toshiyuki, is from the Kokinwaka-shü, an anthology of ancient and modern poems written mainly by aristocrats and compiled in the early tenth century by Ki no Tsurayuki (c. 868-945). This parodies the original poem, which was about the seasonal change from summer to autumn. It referred to the Buddhist concept of impermanence, in which the world we live in is seen as fleeting and always subject to change. In this print, however, the meaning has been transformed. Although the exact interpretation of this image is unknown, the verse might be suggesting a lover's sudden change of mood. (from Summer Evenings: Harunobu exhibition 5/30/06-)

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