Ise

Catalog note / 解説

This image comes from volume one of the illustrated book Sugata-e Hyakunin Isshu (The hundred poets illustrated) by Hishikawa Moronobu. Moronobu is considered to be a founder of the genre painting tradition that would come to be known as ukiyo-e, “images of the floating world.” The text at the top of the page gives the names of Ise (one of the best thirty-six poets of the 10th century) and her father, and interprets one of Ise's poems, which is the basis of the illustration. The poem reads: Bay of Naniwa: Must I spend my life without meeting him, Even for an interval as brief as these reed-nodes? This painting style is called Mikaeri bijin (Beauty Looking Back), which was established by Mor…