Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)

Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)

Katsushika Hokusai

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This print illustrates one of the oldest poems in the Huakunin isshū (one Hundred Famous Poets) anthology. It is by the Empress Jitō (645–702): Haru sugite natsu ki ni kerashi shirotae no i hosu tefu ama no Kaguyama Spring has passed and summer, it seems, has come garments of white cloth are spread to dry, the clouds are cloaking heavenly Mount Kagu.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)Poem by Jitō Tenno (Empress Jitō), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)

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.