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Grebe with poem

Painter: Tawaraya Sôtatsu (Japanese, died about 1640)
Calligrapher: Karasumaru Mitsuhiro (Japanese, 1579 – 1638)
Japanese
Edo period
early 17th century

Medium/Technique Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions Image: 89.4 × 36.1 cm (35 3/16 × 14 3/16 in.)
Mounted: 172.6 × 47.5 cm (67 15/16 × 18 11/16 in.)
Overall: 175.3 × 52.4 × 2.6 cm (69 × 20 5/8 × 1 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Peggy and Richard M. Danziger
Accession Number2024.2805
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsPaintings

InscriptionsInscriptions: Sōtatsu hokkyō (Sōtatsu, Bridge of the Law); lower left

Ukishizumi Floating and sinking
Nami no makai ni Between the waves,
Kakururu mo Whether visible or
Miyuru no onaji invisible
Nio no kayoiji It is all the same—
The pathway of the grebe

Inscribed upper section by Karasumaru Mitsuhiro
(translated by John M. Rosenfield and Yoshiaki Shimizu)
Sōtatsu sensei\hitsu\...\tori (bird) on outer paulownia box: Sōtatsu sensei\hitsu\...\tori (bird) ; Sōtatsu hitsu. . .. \Mitsuhiro san on inner box lid obverse.

ProvenanceMasuda Takashi, Don’ō (b. 1848 – d. 1938), Odawara and Kamakura; after 1938, collection sold by Masuda’s son to Setsu Inosuke (dealer; b. 1897 – d. 1969), Setsu Gatodō, Ltd., Tokyo; 1980, sold by Setsu Gatodō to Peggy and Richard M. Danziger, New York; gift of Peggy and Richard M. Danziger to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 18, 2024)