Lit. paintings of Teika's poems of the flowers and
birds of the twelve months. According to his diary MEIGETSUKI 明月記, in 1214
the poet Fujiwara no Teika 藤原定家 (also read Sadaie, 1162-1241) was requested to
write a series of poems on birds and flowers to be inscribed on paintings of the
same theme. The flowers and birds are : 1
first month, willow yanagi 柳 and warbler uguisu 鴬 ;
2 second month, cherry sakura 桜 and pheasant kiji 雉
; 3 third month, wisteria (uji 藤 and
skylark hibari 雲雀 ; 4 forth month,
deutzia unohana 卯の花 and cuckoo hototogisu 時鳥 ; 5
fifth month, orange tachibana 橘 and water-rail kuina
水鶏 ; 6 sixth month, pinks nadeshiko
撫子 and cormorant u 鵜 ; 7 seventh month,
maidenflower ominaehi 女郎花 and magpie kasasagi 鵲 ; 8 eighth month, bush-clover hagi 萩 and wild goose hatsukari
初雁 ; 9 ninth month, miscanthus susuki
薄 and quail uzura 鶉 ; 10 tenth month,
chrysanthemum kiku 菊 and cranes tsuru 鶴 ; 11 eleventh month, loquat biwa 枇杷 and plovers chidori 千鳥
; and 12 twelfth month, early plum soubai
早梅 and mandarin ducks mizutori 水鳥. The renewed interest in Teika during
the 17c led to the production of numerous paintings based on these previously
little-known poems found in the SHUUIGUSOU 拾遺愚草, the anthology of Teika's
poetry. The theme was first painted by Tosa Mitsuoki 土佐光起 (1617-91) in a pair
of handscrolls (Tokyo National Museum), and later rendered in sets of hanging
scrolls and screen compositions by Kanou Tan'yuu 狩野探幽 (1602-74; Univ. of Michigan,
Idemitsu 出光, Fujita 藤田 Museum). Sets of ceramic plates by Ogata Kenzan 尾形乾山 (1663-1743,
MOA, Idemitsu, LACMA), and small paintings on the theme are best known. |