Abstract
This research note analyzes an Ainu hunting colored picture by Matsuura
Takeshirō (1818-1888), a well-known explorer of Ezo (Hokkaido), newly discovered
by Professor Matsuda Kiyoshi among uncatalogued materials in
the Yamamoto Dokushoshitsu (読書室) collection. The painting is a hansetsu
(height 140.5 cm, width 31.6 cm) of gasen paper, owned by Yamamoto Ayao.
On the reverse, the author’s name “松浦武四郎” (Matsuura Takeshirō) is
written in ink, seemingly in the handwriting of Ayao.
The san inscription is a waka poem, “Namimakura ukitomo shirazu
ukineshite yowataru michizo kokoro yasukere” (Sleeping with your head
on the waves, free from worldly worries, is the way to spend life, with a
peaceful heart), written in ink by Takeshirō on the upper part of the piece.
The rakukan inscription is “多気志絵” (Takishi e, drawn by Takeshi, Taki
county). The rakukan-in seal reads “古春” (Koshun, old spring), a previously-
unseen mark. The year of production is not given. The painting was
probably a gift to Ayao or his father, Yamamoto Bōyō, teacher of
Kakeshirō in Chinese classics and natural history.
