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Photograph © The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
49
ArtistJapanese, 1656–1730

Hitomaro

late 17th or early 18th century
Hanging scroll, ink on paper
Overall: 24 5/8 × 10 5/8 in. (62.5 × 27 cm) Mount: 52 3/8 × 11 11/16 in. (133 × 29.7 cm) Roller: 13 3/8 × 7/8 in. (33.9 × 2.3 cm)
EX.2023.NW.013

“Hito and Maru are the two perfect characters to form a perfect temperament in man and give to him a heavenly spirit. The most precious and unique, perfectly round heavenly body does not admit two suns; thus among ancient and modern poets, he alone has supreme excellence.”1

 

Daishin Gitō’s admiration for the seventh-century poet Hitomaro is made clear by his lengthy inscription, which distinguishes Hitomaro as the most supreme poet in all of Japanese history. Hitomaro’s refined poetry also made him a favorite of practitioners of the tea ceremony, which would be an ideal setting to display this work.

 

—Bradley Bailey

Notes

1. Stephen Addiss, Zenga and Nanga: Paintings by Japanese Monks and Scholars, Selections from the Kurt and Millie Gitter Collection (New Orleans: New Orleans Museum of Art, 1976), 50.