Kyoto, Japan
Edo Period (1603-1868), c. 1850
Of shallow pinch-potted form for use in the summer months, in stoneware with a clear olive-coloured glaze, decorated with an incised waka poem translating to:
Here in the shallows
warriors vied to cross
their names carried
to fame and oblivion
on the waters of Uji River. *
Signed by Rengetsu after the poem. 5.2cm high, 13.3cm diameter. Together with an old inscribed Japanese wooden box.
Cat. 762
* Translation courtesy of The Rengetsu Foundation Project
Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875)
Rengetsu is one of the great female artists of Japanese history. Born as the secret child of a nobleman and a courtesan, she was given up for adoption into another family, married young and suffered a sad life through the loss of family members including all of her children, eventually becoming a Buddhist nun of the Pure Land sect at the age of 33. Through her courtly training as a lady-in-waiting in Kamaoka Castle, she became adept at the noble arts of calligraphy, painting and poetry, and became renowned as a master composer of waka poetry (17-syllable poetry) and for her delicate grass-script calligraphy. She also began potting in clay and and inscribed her original poetry onto her pots. Somehow her sad life, in conjunction with her humility as a Buddhist nun, distilled itself into her superb calligraphy and her innocent but sensitive waka poems. In this way she has become one of the giants of Japanese calligraphy and poetry whose timeless work still speaks to us today.
Kyoto, Japan
Edo Period (1603-1868), c. 1850
Of shallow pinch-potted form for use in the summer months, in stoneware with a clear olive-coloured glaze, decorated with an incised waka poem translating to:
Here in the shallows
warriors vied to cross
their names carried
to fame and oblivion
on the waters of Uji River. *
Signed by Rengetsu after the poem. 5.2cm high, 13.3cm diameter. Together with an old inscribed Japanese wooden box.
Cat. 762
* Translation courtesy of The Rengetsu Foundation Project
Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875)
Rengetsu is one of the great female artists of Japanese history. Born as the secret child of a nobleman and a courtesan, she was given up for adoption into another family, married young and suffered a sad life through the loss of family members including all of her children, eventually becoming a Buddhist nun of the Pure Land sect at the age of 33. Through her courtly training as a lady-in-waiting in Kamaoka Castle, she became adept at the noble arts of calligraphy, painting and poetry, and became renowned as a master composer of waka poetry (17-syllable poetry) and for her delicate grass-script calligraphy. She also began potting in clay and and inscribed her original poetry onto her pots. Somehow her sad life, in conjunction with her humility as a Buddhist nun, distilled itself into her superb calligraphy and her innocent but sensitive waka poems. In this way she has become one of the giants of Japanese calligraphy and poetry whose timeless work still speaks to us today.
