The Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)l

The Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)l

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

We do not see the face of the poet, whose kneeling figure is all but obscured by her voluminous, layered court garb, against which the graceful fall of her black hair creates a sinuous pattern. The inscription and poems on this portrait identify the sitter as Koōgimi, lady-in-waiting to two successive emperors of the early eleventh century. The selection of poets for the “Fujifusa Version” of the Thirty-six Poetic Immortals is believed to have been edited by the courtier Fujiwara no Fujifusa (born 1295). Only eleven fragments from the handscroll, including this precious example, are known to survive. Koōgimi’s verse alludes to a failed attempt by the Shinto deity Hitokotonushi no Kami to erect a stone bridge (iwabashi) between Mount Katsuragi in Nara and Kinpusen to thesouth. The phrase “stone bridge” has thus come to suggest an interrupted love affair. Iwabashi no yoru no chigiri mo taenu beshi akuru wabishiki Katsuragi no kami Last night’s vows of love, like a stone bridge, cannot be extended! At dawn, how sad the god of Katsuragi appears. —trans. by John T. Carpenter

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)lThe Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)lThe Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)lThe Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)lThe Poet Koōgimi, from the “Fujifusa Version” of Thirty-six Poetic Immortals (Fujifusa-bon Sanjūrokkasen emaki)l

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.