Ukiyo-e 33, UKs-6, Handbag - Kunisada, Sorrow of the Shogun
Ukiyo-e Bag - Sorrow of the Shogun.
Ukiyo-e (Japanese, meaning "Pictures of the Floating World"). Ukiyo-e depicts and records the life of Japanese people in the Edo period. It represents Japanese art of 17-19 centuries.
「百人一首 鎌倉右大臣」
a. The story – Sorrow of the Shogun
In an early morning, a young man came to a river and saw a boat drawn forward in a small river full of reeds, pulling a rope. Under his sorrow and sentiment, he wrote this touching poem. Understanding the meaning of the poem and its background story, people couldn't help but cast deep sympathy on him.
This young man is not an ordinary citizen. He was the 3rd generation general (Shogun) of the Kamakura shogunate - the ruler of the time. The Shogun is Kamakura Udaijin (鎌倉右大臣), his original name is Minamoto no Sanetomo (源 実朝). He became a Shogun in 1204 at the age of 12, when his older brother Yoriie, the 2nd generation Shogun, was murdered.
When his father (the founder and the first generation Shogun of the Kamakura shogunate) died, the family members of Sanetomo’s mother, Hojo clan (北条氏), usurped the political and military power of the shogunate. Sanetomo understood his powerlessness. In order to avoid the same fate as his brother, he put his time and energy into writing Waka poetry (Waka, 和歌, Japanese poem), gaining his high honorable but no power position in the imperial court. He was a talented poet and created more than 700 poems between the ages of 17 and 22. But still, he could not escape the same fate as his brother. At the age of 23, he was assassinated by accomplices of the Hojo clan (his mother's family) when he visited the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine on New Year's Day. The shrine was also the venue of his inauguration for the Great General.
b. The poem (Kamakura Udaijin, 鎌倉右大臣)
Perhaps the young Shogun was exhausted and eager for a peaceful mind. He wished that the world is still and no longer has so much unrest. Under such sentimentality, he wrote this poem and revealed his honest heart in the morning. The poem reads as follows:
世の中は 常にもがもな 渚漕ぐ
あまの小舟の 綱手かなしも
c. Modern translation
“I want this world to stay unchanged. It's nice to have a fisherman's boat that is rowing along the reed and pulling it with a rope.”
It is interpreted as “I want the world to stay unchanged like this thing… When a rope holds the boat, the boat will remain still. When you look at the towline of a paddling fisherman's boat, you will feel like you're crushed.”
d. Kunisada’s (国貞) thinking behind this art
When conceiving this painting, Kunisada certainly had his own thinking behind it. To be in Sanetomo’s role or predicament, imaging what was buried in his heart? It is sorrow? worry? fear? anxiety? Or all of these?
What is inside the wooden box that the woman's two hands are holding? The sorrow of the young Shogun?
Through a beauty, Kunisada brought out this literary work and the its story. The content of the original poem can be clearly read on this painting.
e.「百人一首 鎌倉右大臣」 (Kamakura Udaijin - 100 Poems by 100 Poets)
This print was derived from an old Japanese classic poem “Kamakura Udaijin” (鎌倉右大臣) which was listed as the #93 verse (93番) in the “Ogura Hyakunin Isshu” (小倉百人一首). “Ogura Hyakunin Isshu” literally means “100 Poems by 100 Poets” in English.
Created in Edo period (circa 1847-1852)
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川 国貞; Japanese, 1786-1865)
Art inspires fashion - Exotic style fashion.
Ukiyo-e (Japanese, meaning "Pictures of the Floating World"). Ukiyo-e depicts and records the life of Japanese people in the Edo period. It represents Japanese art of 17-19 centuries.
Beauty Representing the Poet Kamakura Udaijin - Sorrow of the Shogun
From the classical Japanese anthology “100 Poems by 100 Poets” (Ogura Hyakunin Isshu).「百人一首 鎌倉右大臣」
a. The story – Sorrow of the Shogun
In an early morning, a young man came to a river and saw a boat drawn forward in a small river full of reeds, pulling a rope. Under his sorrow and sentiment, he wrote this touching poem. Understanding the meaning of the poem and its background story, people couldn't help but cast deep sympathy on him.
This young man is not an ordinary citizen. He was the 3rd generation general (Shogun) of the Kamakura shogunate - the ruler of the time. The Shogun is Kamakura Udaijin (鎌倉右大臣), his original name is Minamoto no Sanetomo (源 実朝). He became a Shogun in 1204 at the age of 12, when his older brother Yoriie, the 2nd generation Shogun, was murdered.
When his father (the founder and the first generation Shogun of the Kamakura shogunate) died, the family members of Sanetomo’s mother, Hojo clan (北条氏), usurped the political and military power of the shogunate. Sanetomo understood his powerlessness. In order to avoid the same fate as his brother, he put his time and energy into writing Waka poetry (Waka, 和歌, Japanese poem), gaining his high honorable but no power position in the imperial court. He was a talented poet and created more than 700 poems between the ages of 17 and 22. But still, he could not escape the same fate as his brother. At the age of 23, he was assassinated by accomplices of the Hojo clan (his mother's family) when he visited the Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine on New Year's Day. The shrine was also the venue of his inauguration for the Great General.
b. The poem (Kamakura Udaijin, 鎌倉右大臣)
Perhaps the young Shogun was exhausted and eager for a peaceful mind. He wished that the world is still and no longer has so much unrest. Under such sentimentality, he wrote this poem and revealed his honest heart in the morning. The poem reads as follows:
世の中は 常にもがもな 渚漕ぐ
あまの小舟の 綱手かなしも
c. Modern translation
“I want this world to stay unchanged. It's nice to have a fisherman's boat that is rowing along the reed and pulling it with a rope.”
It is interpreted as “I want the world to stay unchanged like this thing… When a rope holds the boat, the boat will remain still. When you look at the towline of a paddling fisherman's boat, you will feel like you're crushed.”
d. Kunisada’s (国貞) thinking behind this art
When conceiving this painting, Kunisada certainly had his own thinking behind it. To be in Sanetomo’s role or predicament, imaging what was buried in his heart? It is sorrow? worry? fear? anxiety? Or all of these?
What is inside the wooden box that the woman's two hands are holding? The sorrow of the young Shogun?
Through a beauty, Kunisada brought out this literary work and the its story. The content of the original poem can be clearly read on this painting.
e.「百人一首 鎌倉右大臣」 (Kamakura Udaijin - 100 Poems by 100 Poets)
This print was derived from an old Japanese classic poem “Kamakura Udaijin” (鎌倉右大臣) which was listed as the #93 verse (93番) in the “Ogura Hyakunin Isshu” (小倉百人一首). “Ogura Hyakunin Isshu” literally means “100 Poems by 100 Poets” in English.
Created in Edo period (circa 1847-1852)
Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川 国貞; Japanese, 1786-1865)
- Price:$178.00
- Glazed synthetic leather
- Custom-print durable Oxford
- Double rolled handles with 6" drop
- Top zip opening has magnetic snaps on each end
- Silver hardware
- Interior features print lining; back zip pocket; 2 front open slip pockets trimmed in matching leather
- Size: 14"W x 9 1/2"H x 6"D