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Introduction

Of Clover and Chrysanthemums

Autumn Themes on Paper and Cloth
September 15 - December 10, 1995

PDP - Autumn themes decorate a wide variety of objects in Japan. Painting, lacquerwork, textiles, and woodblock prints are just a few of the media in which the characteristic subjects of chrysanthemums, morning glories, autumn grasses, and others appear. These motifs, like geese flying before the autumn moon or persimmons, are based upon observations of seasonal changes in nature. The subjects also have rich literary associations. Some themes, like chrysanthemums, are derived from Chinese literature, which was much admired and imitated by the Japanese; others, like morning glories, belong to the native Japanese literary tradition.

This woodblock print exhibition is organized by theme, with chrysanthemums and morning glories occupying the second and fourth walls. The remaining spaces are filled with various other autumnal subjects. The labels for individual prints contain more specific explanations for some of these motifs.

C&T - The use of floral designs on textiles and clothing has a long tradition in Japan. Such patterns were popular in the Nara period (645-794) of medieval Japan, as
indicated by examples in the collection of the Shoso-in imperial repository in Nara.

The aesthetic sensibility of the Heian period (794-1185) led to especially beautiful depictions of autumnal grasses and flowers. The seven autumn grasses (clover, pampas grass, bellflower, and gentian, among others), crimson foliage, and chrysanthemums became some of the most widely employed motifs in poetry and visual arts of this period.

Textile artists of later periods also drew on traditions of calligraphy, painting, and classical literature for autumn motifs, often expressing the inherent sadness of the season heralding the year's end, as well as utilizing these naturalistic subjects for their decorative beauty. Sources included well-known poems grouped by season in popular anthologies. One garment decorated with chrysanthemums could remind the viewer of many poignant poems of autumn, such as this one from a tenth-century anthology:

I will deck my head
with autumn chrysanthemums at their lustrous best
for who can say whether my death may come before they wither?

Or a robe patterned with reddened maple leaves could evoke this famous poem from the same source:

Autumn is saddest
when one hears the call of the stag, crying as he pads
through crimson leaves in the deep mountains.

Textiles with autumn themes used as clothing, religious vestments, and furnishing fabrics from the eighteenth to the twentieth century are on view in this exhibition.

Selected Objects

Japanese, Japan

Court robe (furisode), 1800s

Utagawa Hiroshige

Wild Geese and Moon (Tsuki ni gan), 1830s

Utagawa Hiroshige

Small Bird and Chrysanthemums (Kiku ni kotori), 1830's

Japanese

Kesa and ohi, early 1800s

Japanese

Kesa, early 1800s

Japanese

Ohi, early 1800s

Utagawa Sadahide

Java sparrow and rice plants (Kome no hana ni suzume), 1834

Utagawa Hiroshige

Morning Glories (Asagao), 1854, 2nd month

Utagawa Hiroshige

Crane and autumn grasses (Hagi to susuki ni tsuru), 1830's-1840's

Japanese

kosode, late 1700s

Japanese

Obi, late 1700s-early 1800s

Utagawa Hiroshige

Balloon Flowers and Chinese Silver Grass (Susuki to kikyô), 1830's

Utagawa Hiroshige

Japanese White-eyes and Maples (Benikaede ni mejiro), 1854.2

Japanese

Kesa, 1800s

Nakayama Sugakudo

Golden-crested wren and sasanqua (Kikuitadori sazanka), 1859

Renzan Takanobu

Ivy and old well (Furuido to tsuta), 1840's

Japanese

Kesa, 1680-1786

Shunpudo Noshiro Ryuko, block carver

Chrysanthemums and butterflies (Kiku to botan), 1789

Japanese

Katagami (pattern paper), stencil, late 1800s-early 1900s

Japanese

Stencil (Katagami) with Butterflies and Bundles of Reed, late 1800s-early 1900s

Japanese Meiji, Japan

fabric length; textile length, 1880-1910

Utagawa Hiroshige

Cockerel, umbrella and morning glories (Asagao ni tori to kasa), 1830's

Utagawa Hiroshige

Japanese Morning Glories (Asagao), 1843-1847

Utagawa Kunisato

Japanese White-eyes and Persimmons (Kaki ni mejiro), 1843-1847

Japanese, Japan

Fukusa, 1800s

Kobayashi Kiyochika

Morning glories on bamboo stakes (Asagao), 1879

Utagawa Hiroshige

Moon, begonias, bell flowers and ominaeshi (Tsuki ni shukaido to kikyo to ominaeshi), 1853.1

Japanese, Japan

Kimono (katabira), early 1800s

Utagawa Hiroshige

The everlasting chrysanthemum (Toshigiku), 1843-1847

Japanese

furisode, late 1700s-early 1800s

More objects +

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