The Curtain Clam

Suzuki Harunobu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The young ladies are at the shore. One is getting out of a chair while the other ties a sash about her hips below her "obi." A subtle tone of carpe diem cleverly embedded in the poem deepens the provacative tinge of this charming scene, one of a series that plays on the theme of types of seashells. The "sudare-gai" is a mollusk that was named for the boiled blinds of reed or thin bamboo slats that are still used in Japan to provide the shade and privacy between the interior space and the outside garden. In poetic convention it is a motif of intrinsic eroticism and has a seasonal association with spring. In this print, a small "sudare" covers the window of the palalquin that has carried these courtesans to the shore for a spring outing. Nami kakaru fukiage no hama no sudaregai nami mo zo orusu isogi hirowan. A cool breeze whips the waves onto shore let's hurry to gather the shells.

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