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Yashima Gakutei 八島岳亭

Kinkō 琴高

Maker

Yashima Gakutei 八島岳亭 (1786-1868, worked in Edo and Osaka, Japan)

Title

Kinkō 琴高
from the series Courtesans Viewed as Immortals (傾城見立列仙伝 七番の内 Keisei mitate ressenden nanban no uchi)

Period

Edo Period

Year

1820s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Origin: Japan

Dimensions

Shikishiban: 20.8 x 18.4 cm (8 3/16 x 7 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription Text/Poem: 春の氷ふかきなかれのてくたにものるてふ鯉の尾をは見られし
千代松彦
Translation: The courtesan's wiles work their charm unseen, like the tail that propels the carp through a current deep under the spring ice
- Chiyo no Matsuhiko

(Translation by Alfred Haft in Carpenter, Reading Surimono (2005), p. 106)

Signature: 東都岳亭 Tōtō Gakutei (Gakutei from the Eastern capital)

Seals: 定岡 Sadaoka

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of George Pierce Metcalf

Object Number

56.039.27

Type

Exhibition History

Deep Cuts
Stories from Japanese Surimono Prints
May 23, 2026 – Oct 04, 2026
Surimono from Osaka and Edo
The Pumpelly Album
May 23, 2008 – Oct 05, 2008

Label copy

The Osaka-based Crane Poetry Group commissioned Gakutei, an Edo (modern Tokyo) printmaker, to design a set of surimono depicting courtesans as immortals. The holy hermit Kinko is said to have traveled on the back of a large carp. The poem to the left of the courtesan is by Chiyo no Matsuhiko (act. mid-1820s), a member of the Crane Poetry Group, and the nesting-crane emblem is part of the series title in the upper right. Gakutei designed the background with crane images and identified himself as an artist from Edo.

Happiness and Longevity
Deities of Good Fortune in Japanese Prints
Dec 05, 2003 – Feb 29, 2004
Hokusai and His Followers
May 15, 1987 – Sep 27, 1987

Label copy

This sumptuously printed surimono shows a famous courtesan and is part of a series commissioned by The Crane Poetry Club. Her kimono is decorated with a carp design; the background motif of stylized cranes indicates the sponsor. Gakutei is said to have studied under Hokkei, Hokusai's pupil.

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Yashima Gakutei 八島岳亭 (1786-1868, worked in Edo and Osaka, Japan)
Kinkō 琴高; from the series Courtesans Viewed as Immortals (傾城見立列仙伝 七番の内 Keisei mitate ressenden nanban no uchi) , 1820s
polychrome woodblock print with embossing and metallic embellishment (surimono)
Shikishiban: 20.8 x 18.4 cm (8 3/16 x 7 1/4 inches)
Gift of George Pierce Metcalf 56.039.27

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