Carp and Waterweeds

Carp and Waterweeds

Yōgetsu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Little is known about Yōgetsu, who was active as a monk in the mountains northeast of the ancient capital of Nara. He is sometimes cited as a follower of the master painter Sesshū Tōyō (1420–1506). Above Yōgetsu’s auspicious image of a pair of fish swimming in a pond, Mokumoku Dōjin, about whom little is also known, has inscribed a poem that recalls the carp’s role as a vehicle of the Daoist immortal Qingao: Wind whips the grass along the riverbank, frigid at dusk. A single ray of brilliant red illuminates the white shoal. If Qingao were here, he would not be riding a crane— He’d have [his carp] shaking their heads and snapping their tails, spinning waves into whirlpools. —Trans. Aaron Rio

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Carp and WaterweedsCarp and WaterweedsCarp and WaterweedsCarp and WaterweedsCarp and Waterweeds

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.