The Retired Emperor Yozei

Japanese painter and printmaker Katsukawa Shunso was a major exponent of the ukiyo-e style. Traditionally, woodblocks done in that technique include (among other subjects) female beauties, kabuki actors, sumo wrestlers, travel scenes, landscapes, flora and fauna, and, occasionally, erotic subjects. This print is a portrait of sorts. It shows only a small part of the Emperor Yozei, who was forced from the throne and lived in seclusion. Perhaps the calligraphy inscribed on the top half of the print, a love poem by the Emperor addressed to the Princess Tsuridono-no-Miko, tells us more about him. It reads: The Mina stream comes tumbling down/From Mount Tsukuba's height;/Strong as my love, it leaps into/A pool as black as night/With overwhelming might.

Katherine Welch '21

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