Nunobiki-no-taki　布引の滝

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Lit. cloth-pulling waterfalls. A series of waterfalls at the head of the Ikuta 生田 River in Hyougo prefecture. In ancient times, many poems were composed in praise of these falls, whose name lent itself to association with such images as "white threads," "bleaching," and "robes." Most famous for their mention in Section 87 of ISE MONOGATARI 伊勢物語 (The Tales of Ise ; see *Ise ｍonogatari-e 伊勢物語絵), as they were illustrated by such artists as Soutatsu 宗達 (?-ca.1640; Minneapolis Institute of Art). Such pictures often include the following poem by Ariwara no Narihira 在原業平 (825-80): Nuki midaru/hito koso aru rashi/shira-tama no/ma naku mo chiru ka/sode no sekiba ni ぬき乱る/人こそあるらし/白玉の/間なくも散るか/袖のせきばに (It looks as though someone must be unstringing those clear cascading gems. Alas! My sleeves are too narrow to hold them all; trans. H. McCullough). The Nunobiki 布引 Falls also appear as a landscape subject in prints by *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists, such as Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1868), and, in connection with Akugenta Yoshihira 悪源太義平 (1140-60) and HEIKE MONOGATARI 平家物語 (The Tale of The Heike) in warrior prints such as those by Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳 (1797-1861).

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