A Peacock Perched on a Maple Tree

A Peacock Perched on a Maple Tree

Utagawa Hiroshige

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Occasionally, Hiroshige incorporated lines from Chinese poems, rather than Japanese ones, into his bird-and-flower compositions. Here, the verse by the Chinese poet Bai Juyi (772–846) is among those included in the early eleventh-century anthology Japanese and Chinese Poems to Sing (Wakan rōeishū): 不堪紅葉青苔地　又是涼風暮雨天 Taezu kōyō seitai no chi mata kore ryōfū bou no ten How moving: Earth covered with green moss scattered with crimson leaves. And then even more so: Skies filled with evening rain as a cool wind blows. —Trans. John T. Carpenter

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A Peacock Perched on a Maple TreeA Peacock Perched on a Maple TreeA Peacock Perched on a Maple TreeA Peacock Perched on a Maple TreeA Peacock Perched on a Maple Tree

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.