On Becoming Fifty, 1836
Ema Saikōexpand_more
Ink on paperexpand_more
Gift of Stephen Addiss and Audrey Yoshiko Seoexpand_more 2013.63.37
On View in Gallery 253expand_more
Ema Saikō was an outstanding female literatus of her time who was undertaking Chinese studies and arts. She wrote this Chinese-style poem on elegant blue paper with a delicate design of bracken.
As I become half a hundred, I begin to understand past mistakes;
Slowly, slowly, my intentions have been thwarted.
Cranes are tall, ducks short—it is not humans who made them so.
Fish leap, hawks soar—all following the course of nature.
My desires have faded away like spring snow,
Old friends have vanished like stars at dawn.
In the end, there is no use in potions for longevity,
I only love to paint bamboo, its verdure reflected on my robe.
Details
- Title
- On Becoming Fifty
- Artist Life
- 1787 - 1861
- Role
- Calligrapher
- Accession Number
- 2013.63.37
- Curator Approved
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