Stencil with Theme from Matsukaze

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The vignette at the lower right of this stencil (katagami) evokes the Noh play Matsukaze (literally, "wind in the pines"). Matsukaze, a lovelorn woman of humble status, pined for the return of her lover, the nobleman Yukihira, formerly an exile to the shores of Suma Bay, where she and her sister lived. In the second half of the play the spirit of Matsukaze dons a courtly robe and hat that Yukihira had left behind. Insisting that the pine tree on the shore is Yukihira, she performs a heartbreaking dance of madness and attachment to her earthly passions. The robe is seen here hanging from a pine tree, and the hat is on the ground nearby.

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