Flowers Do Not Wait

Titles

Imayō Tsuma Kagami
今様妻鏡

Artist Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1725 - 1770)

Date1767

GeographyJapan

MediumWoodblock print; ink and color on paper Technique: Nishiki-e (Woodblock print with color blocks)

Dimensions8 1/4 x 10 7/8 in. (21 x 27.6 cm)
Other (mat): 14 × 19 in. (35.6 × 48.3 cm)
Other (frame): 15 1/16 × 20 1/16 × 1 1/4 in. (38.3 × 51 × 3.2 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineGift of James A. Michener, 1957 (13818)

Object number13818

DescriptionThe text that Harunobu uses as a basis for this portfolio, as well as for a similar, monochromatic series known as Modern Paragons of Women (Imayo Tsuma Kagami), is the Collection of Japanese and Chinese Verses (Wakan roei shu), compiled around the year 1012 by the calligrapher Fujiwara no Yukinari (972-1027). This non-explicit print was the frontispiece of the portfolio. The poem inscribed at the top, written by Ki no Yoshimochi (d. 919), reads:

Blown by the early spring wind
The plum tree secretly begins to bloom
Its hundred flowers do not wait for mid-spring
Before emitting their fragrance
As the season begins to change, its buds appear
And when spring has finally arrived
Its flowers welcome the blessed rain and dew

Portfolio/SeriesModern Paragons of Women

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