DATA

Artist:

Kusumi Morikage

Historical era:

Edo (17th century)

Material:

printed on washi paper

Medium:

two-fold screen

Theme:

High Resolution Facsimile of Historical Cultural Assets

Size:

H149.1 × W165.6 cm

Recipient:

National Institutes for Cultural HeritageMAP

[Original]

Current owner:

Tokyo National Museum

Material:

ink, light color on washi paper

DESCRIPTION

The painter of this screen, Kusumi Morikage (dates unknown), studied under Kano Tanyu — hailed as a second Kano Eitoku — and ranked among his four star pupils. But he left the Kano school because of a family scandal, it is said, and was later patronized by the Maeda clan, the rulers of Kaga domain.
This painting, one of Morikage’s most famous works and a designated National Treasure, lyrically depicts a humble scene from everyday life: a peasant family of three enjoying the evening cool beneath the full moon as they relax on a straw mat under a calabash-vine arbor. The scene is believed to have been inspired by the following verse of Kinoshita Choshoshi, a poet of the early Edo Period.

Cooling off under the blooming moonflower trellis,
Man in his loincloth,
Woman in her waistcloth.