Shimizu Temple

Suzuki Harunobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Before inventing the brocade print (nishiki-e) around 1765–66, Harunobu made traditional color prints known as benizuri-e, literally "red-printed pictures." They were usually printed in two colors: red and green or red and yellow. The fresh yellow color in this print was probably added later after the original color had faded away. The theme of the Seven Episodes of Komachi, the ninth-century poet who was famed for her beauty and wit, already had an established pictorial convention. Here, Harunobu interprets this classical theme in a contemporary genre scene. The rectangular cartouche at the upper right gives the series title and the print's complete title Shimizu (Kiyomizu) Temple in Kyoto; the overlapping square cartouche contains a poem and an illustration of waterfalls at the temple. The poem reads: For what reason should you remove your sash or conduct yourself heedlessly? The beauty of the waterfall is unchanging.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art