Matching Shells (Kai-awase), “Kisen Hōshi,” from the series Modern Parodies of the Six Poetic Immortals (Yatsushi rokkasen: Kisen Hōshi)

Chōbunsai Eishi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This image captures the vogue for half-length portraits of beauties that became a trademark of Chōbunsai Eishi’s contemporary, Kitagawa Utamaro (ca. 1753–1806). In accordance with the series title, it employs the parodic device by which figures of the past are depicted in contemporary guise, sometimes as a person of lower status or a different gender. Here, the Heian-period monk-poet Kisen Hōshi is represented by a courtesan holding a shell decorated with a painting that recalls Chapter 45 of The Tale of Genji, “The Divine Princess at Uji Bridge.” In that episode, Kaoru, Genji’s supposed son, visits Princess Ōigimi in Uji.

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