Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861) One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets #16: Chûnagon Yukihira, 1842. Oban.
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The One Hundred Poets series, Hyaku-nin isshu, is an anthology of one hundred poems by one hundred different poets, compiled in the thirteenth-century by the critic and poet Fujiwara no Sadaie (also known as Teika). The poems are all five-line poems of 31 syllables arranged as 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7. This form was known as waka and is now known as tanka. The hundred poets are in approximately chronological order from the seventh through the thirteenth centuries. The number associated with each poet appears in the margin of most of the prints, with a few incorrectly numbered. Some of the prints portray the poets, and some show scenes associated with their lives or poetry. The poem and some descriptive text appear on each print in the broad rectangular cartouche.
This print represents number 16: by Chunagon Yukihira (818 - 893). Chunagon is a title and not a proper name. It means 'Middle Counsellor'.
Yukihiraa was an early Heian waka poet, courtier. As a poet he stands in the shadow of his younger brother, Ariwara Narihira. But he was considerably involved in court affairs, becoming a middle counsellor and head of the bureau of civil affairs after holding other appointments. Although not as famous as Sugawara Michizane, he shared Michizane's fate as a prey to Fujiwara hegemony and as an exiled poet. Numerous works deal with, parallel, or allude to his exile in Suma. Among them are the 'Suma' chapter of Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogalari; the nō, Matsukaze, is another conspicuous example. Renga, jōruri, and haikai also recall him and his poems. In those poems and in his legend, he lives on as one of the unfortunate heroes periodically remembered when another person suffers similar exile or suffering.
(Miner, Odagiri and Morrell, The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature, Princeton University Press 1985, p. 143.)
It is a tremendous piece from a rare series that is highly regarded. The poem here is:
Though we are parted,
If on Mount Inaba’s peak
I should hear the sound
Of the pine trees growing there,
I’ll come back again to you.
It is his most famous poem and the print illustrates the mountain peak and the great pines. We see the poet and his retinue, perhaps as a visual reminder of the poet’s exile.
A good, bold print, colour and impression are fine. Condition is very good over all. Full-size, with margins. Another copy of this print is in the British Museum, London.
37 x 26 cm.
