Abstract
Edo period paintings are characterized by the beautiful balance between realism and imagery. From this perspective, this paper aims to consider three Edo paintings that the author has recently viewed.
Mt. Fuji in a Dream is an inscribed work by Ogata Korin. On the left side, Korin uses simple brushstrokes to depict the peak of Mt. Fuji, and on the right side, he provides an inscription. The inscription describes a dream he had on the night of January 9, 1699. While painting this piece, Korin had not yet seen Mt. Fuji in person. He finally saw Mt. Fuji when he went to Edo during the Hoei era (1704 to 1711). However, what is important is the fact that Korin was well acquainted from an early stage with “The Tales of Ise”, attributed to Ariwara no Narihira. The ninth tale, “Departing for the East,” must have been a particular favorite of the artist as it provides the basis for the famous Irises screens. This tale and the inscription in this painting are connected by “Departing for the East,” but another important motif that appears in this tale is Mt. Fuji. In other words, Korin had a mental image of Fuji before he painted Mt. Fuji in a Dream. (View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)
