"Maple Bridge Night Mooring"

Ike Taiga

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ike Taiga, one of the most prolific and influential artists of the Nanga, or literati school, in Kyoto, excelled in a calligraphic style called karayō, or Chinese-style writing. This screen displays Taiga’s mastery of the style in his inscription of the Chinese poem “Maple Bridge Night Mooring,” by Zhang Ji (766?–830?), whose verses Taiga frequently used in his paintings and calligraphic works. The characters, most of which are rendered in grass script, or sōsho, were powerfully brushed, with contrasting wet and semi-dry brushstrokes and broad and thin lines. The poem reads: The moon sets, crows sing, and frost fills the sky. Maple trees along the river and fires in fishing boats face me, sleepless with lament. The bell of Cold Mountain Temple outside Suzhou tolls, At midnight, the sound reaches this boat.

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