The Seven Grasses of Autumn, with poem by Motoori Ohira

Artist Tanaka Totsugen (Japanese, 1767 - 1823)

MediumHanging scroll: ink and colors on silk

Dimensions13 7/8 × 39 15/16 inches (35.2 × 101.4 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineAcquired through the George and Mary Rockwell Fund, and through the generosity of Loren Stephens, Class of 1965, in memory of Carol and Seymour Meyer, Class of 1936

Terms

Paintings
Hanging scroll: ink and colors
Silk
Japanese

Object number2010.081

Label CopyBoth the painter Totsugen and the poet Motoori Ohira were part of a nationalistic movement that sought to revive the aesthetics associated with the Heian and Kamakura periods, considered a golden age of indigenous Japanese culture. Their efforts represented a deliberate reaction against the dominance of Chinese influence in the arts, in religion and in the politics of the powerful Tokugawa shogunate. The seven autumn grasses (aki no nanakusa), an important theme in early Japanese poetry and songs, came to be equated with the aristocratic culture of the Heian period (784-1185). It expresses both the beauty of autumn and the sadness that comes with the end of summer and the approaching cold weather. The seven grasses include bush clover (hagi), pampas grass (susuki), arrowroot (kuzu), pinks (nadeshiko), maiden flower (ominaeshi), mistflower (fujibakama) and morning glory (asagao). The poem by Motoori Ohira (1756-1833) reads: Kasugano wa Aki saku hana no Nanakusa mo Sode furihaete Mi ni ya yukamashi Fields of Kasuga I would go to view sleeves fluttering The seven grasses that flower in autumn

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