The Twelve Zodiac Animals as Poets (Jūnishi Kasen)
Early Edo period, late 17th century
Artists
Description
The works of famous Japanese poets from different historical periods were copied, compiled, and pitted against one another in "competitions" that mirrored actual poetry contests held at court. The competing verses were sometimes accompanied by depictions of their authors. A tradition of painted poet "portraits" evolved in tandem with a taste for realism during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), although the images were based on imagined likenesses rather than on actual appearance. This scroll satirizes those earlier literary and pictorial legacies by portraying the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and boar) in the guise of traditional Japanese poets. Each wears a sumptuously rendered costume--the tiger, rabbit, and dragon in the robes of high-ranking male courtiers; the snake in the exquisite multilayered dress of a court lady. Each is seated against a gold-misted ground beneath an appropriate verse.
Dimensions
H. 35.8 x W. 378.9 cm (14 1/8 x 149 3/16 in.)
Related Artworks
View MoreTempera on panel
18th-19th centuryRussianAlbum leaf; ink on paper
17th centuryKorean
Oil? and synthetic medium on canvas.
20th centuryAmericanAlbum; ink on paper
18th centuryJapaneseAcrylic paint on canvas
20th centuryAmericanInk and opaque watercolor on paper
18th-19th centuryIndianOil on cradled panel
17th centuryDutchOil on canvas
18th centuryAmericanTempera on wood panel
14th-15th centuryItalianHanging scroll; ink on silk, with signature and seal
19th centuryJapaneseBanner; ink and color on silk. Reportedly retrieved from Dunhuang, Gansu province.
9th centuryChineseAlbum leaf; ink on paper
20th centuryJapanese