Poet Semimaru with His Lute in a Bag
date: label: Date
content: 1839
label: Period
content: Edo period
name: label: Artist
content: Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849)
notes: label: Label
content: Semimaru, a legendary figure said to have been the fourth son of Emperor Daigo (rEIGNED 897-930), was sent to Mount Osaka because he was blind. Myths and legends about Semimaru form the basis of the medieval Noh play of the same name. In the Edo period he was featured as a character in puppet plays and kabuki drama. In an earlier picture in Hokusai's popular multivolume Manga sketchbooks, Semimaru holds a lute (biwa). Here, his instrument is in a cloth bag, and his expression seems introspective. Hokusai had reached his eightieth year when he painted this work in ink and pale colors, a style he had practiced for over forty years. Many of his paintings of this period are thought to include elements of reflective self-portrayal.
label: Provenance
content: To 1902
label: Provenance
content: Thomas E. Kirby (1846-1924), New York to 1902 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1902 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Thomas E. Kirby in 1902 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Kakemono List, L. 269, pg. 61, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Hokusai: Mad About Painting (November 20, 2019 to January 9, 2022)
label: Exhibition History
content: Hokusai (October 25, 2005 to May 14, 2006)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Thomas E. Kirby (1846-1924) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Japan
topic: label: Topic
content: Edo period (1615 - 1868)
label: Topic
content: lute
label: Topic
content: poet
label: Topic
content: Japan
label: Topic
content: ukiyo-e
label: Topic
content: Japanese Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1902.27
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Ink and color on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 92.4 × 18.6 cm (36 3/8 × 7 5/16 in)