Analogy

Katsukawa Shunshō　勝川春章

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The beauty of Shunshō's print gathers further elegance from two layers of poetic devices—a visual allustion to the imagery in a poem describing a love "as infinite as the shells upon the shore" and the analogy itself, discussed at length in the preface to the Kokin waka shū. The passage from the preface is quoted in the cloud at the top of the print. The subtle play of meaning between the collecting of shells and the collecting of poetry—a box of shells becomes a visual metaphor for an anthology of poetry—is particularly pleasing.

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