A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem

Uematsu Tôshû (mentioned on object), c. 1800 - c. 1805

Man en vrouw in hofkleding uit de Heian periode (794-1185) zittend bij een tafeltje met daarop gedichtenbriefjes (tanzaku). Met één gedicht.

  • Artwork typeprint, surimono
  • Object numberRP-P-1991-675
  • Dimensionsheight 134 mm x width 200 mm
  • Physical characteristicsnishikie, with metallic pigments and blindprinting

Uematsu Tôshû

A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem

Japan, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805

Inscriptions

  • stamped: lower left, in red ink, with seal of Hayashi Tadamasa

Provenance

…; the dealer or collection Hayashi Tadamasa (1853-1906) (L. 2971);…; purchased from the dealer Kunsthandel Huys den Esch, Dodewaard, by J.H.W. Goslings (1943-2011), Epse, near Deventer, 1990;1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 67, cat. no. 151 by whom donated to the museum, 1991

Object number: RP-P-1991-675

Credit line: Gift of J.H.W. Goslings, Epse

Context

The poet Naritake is represented on various surimono in the collection, most of them designed by Gakutei in the 1820s (e.g., RP-P-1958-453). However, he also worked with Shinsai, see, for example, a print dated 1818 that he commissioned himself.2Keyes, Roger S., Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Prints in the Spencer Museum of Art. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1984, p. 50. In 1822, he published the kyoka collection Sokan kyoka awase (untranslatable), illustrated by Gakutei.3Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 68.

Entry

A courtier dressed in formal clothing decorated with floral patterns and wearing a court-cap, eboshi, sitting at a low writing-table, holding a poetry-slip, tanzaku. More poetry-slips on the table. Behind him a seated court-lady holding an open fan. A pot of brushes and two ink-stones for making ink, sumi, by the table.

The two figures are dressed in the classical court attire commonly associated with the Heian period (794-1185).

One poem by Harunoya Naritake [also Asane Naritake, a judge of the Honchoren].4Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 157. The poem alludes to the First Writing of the New Year, kakizome.

Issued by the poet
Signature reading: Agematsu Toshu hitsu

Literature

M. Forrer, Surimono in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Leiden 2013, no. 188

Citation

M. Forrer, 2013, 'Uematsu Tôshû, A Courtier Preparing to Write a Poem, Japan, c. 1800 - c. 1805', in Surimono from the Goslings Collection in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/200467495

(accessed 12 December 2025 11:20:58).

Footnotes

  • 1Coll. cat. Goslings 1999, p. 67, cat. no. 151
  • 2Keyes, Roger S., Surimono: Privately Published Japanese Prints in the Spencer Museum of Art. Tokyo/New York: Kodansha International Ltd., 1984, p. 50.
  • 3Suga, Chikuho, Kyoka shomoku shusei. Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977, p. 68.
  • 4Kano, Kaian (ed.), Kyoka jinmei jisho (Dictionary of Names of Kyoka Poets). Kyoto: Rinsen shoten, 1977 (1928), p. 157.