Title: Sanjurokkasen Jō (The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry Collection), Circa 1600-1643. An Exemplary Album of Thirty-Six Illuminated Paintings and Poetry, Attributed to one of the Greatest Painting Studios of the Edo Period
Author: Stated Attribution to Tawaraya Sotatsu; Calligraphy Attributed to Karasumaru Mitsuhiro; Letter of Appraisal by Okura Kosai; Attributed to Studio of Tawaraya Sotatsu; Poetry Originally Compiled by Fujiwara no Kinto
Condition: Very Good
An Early Edo Period, early to mid 17th century painting album, entitled The Sanjurokkasen Jō, or The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry Collection.
Selected by Fujiwara no Kintō of the Heian Period, the Sanjurokkasen are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian Periods as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability.
Since that, various editions of the Sanjurokkasen have been produced, from the Thirty-Six Female Immortals of Poetry, the New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, and even the Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, each with a unique selection of poets.
Each painting has been sumptuously produced with profuse usage of gold leaf and inks to decorate the background. Each poet has been masterfully painted, with significant attention to detail on the vestments and kimono patterns, and illumination highlights to most of the figures, making them more distinctive. Considerable effort has been placed onto the facial details as well, from face lines and wrinkles, unique expressions, and more.
The calligraphy accompanying each painting is beautiful shaped and swooping, filling in the empty spaces above each poet.
The paintings have a stated attribution to Tawaraya Sōtatsu (1570-1640), and the calligraphy to Karasumaru Mitsuhiro (1579-1638), both esteemed masters of their crafts.
A Japanese furniture designer and painter of the Rinpa school, Sotatsu has been best known for his beautifully painted compositions and decorations of calligraphic books often produced by his work partner Hon'ami Kōetsu, as well as his nationally recognized byobu folding screens. He has been credited as a co-founder of the Rinpa School of Japanese painting, and today is the second-most recognized Japanese painter in terms of number of inclusions in the National Treasures of Japan list.
A noble and poet of the Early Edo Period, Mitsuhiro rose to prominence as a poet, calligrapher, and artist deeply rooted in Zen Buddhist principles. He received comprehensive training in his arts, mastering the techniques of the Go-Toba school, and studied under Sansai Hosokawa, honing his skills in capturing spiritual concepts through his brushstrokes. His career ascended at a timely hour with the rise and subsequent rule of Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, and he served as an emissary between court and shogun, actively participating in the monumental undertaking of constructing Nikko Toshogu Shrine—a lavish mausoleum dedicated to Emperor Go-Mizunoo. In his later life, he went to Edo frequently, teaching waka poetry to Iemitsu Tokugawa He interacted and collaborated with quite a few notable artists including Koetsu and Sotatsu.
It should be noted that Mitsuhiro worked on a few different versions of Thirty-Six Immortals during his lifetime, including one Emperor Go-Toba version (object 554750 on Bunka) and at least one byobu as part of a group collaboration (Object B-3478 on ColBase).
Accompanying the album is a stamped appraisal report by Edo Period calligraphy expert Okura Kosai, who served the Kishu Tokugawa family and was awarded the rank of Hokkyo. He died in 1863 but not before having appraised a wide selection of calligraphy, paintings, and other hand produced manuscripts and artworks. It should be noted that in Kosai’s report, he does not fully confirm the attribution, but states that while there is a listed attribution to Sotatsu and Mitusuhiro, he is uncertain as to the exact confirmation.
In conducting additional research, some rather crucial information connecting the artists can be noted. In the Rinha kaiga zenshū sōtatsu-ha ichi as edited by Yuzo Yamane, item 34 is a signed single painting of Lady Ise from the Sanjurokkasen, produced by Sotatsu and Mitsuhiro, for a Shodo Calligraphy Class. While they are not an exact match, the calligraphy and painting of Lady Ise do have a few similarities. That piece has coincidently sold recently, by the established dealer Matsumoto Shoeido in 2022.
With that in mind, while the artwork is not a direct match with examples produced by Sotatsu, the richly applied pigments and high levels of detailing are strong hallmarks of Sotatsu’s Studio. The swaths of gold in the background with subtle hue changes, and gilt illumination to the vestments of figures, is also indicative of Sotatsu's style, and some very strong comparisons can be seen with objects 2015.300.88 at the MET, 35.309 at the Walters Art Museum, 1951.398 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and others. There is also a strong likelihood that a follower of Mitsuhiro produced the script for the album as well, though the likelihood of Mitsuhiro producing the calligraphy is less certain, even with the similarities noted. For comparison, refer to objects 482788 and 455944 recorded on Bunka, as well as object 44761 recorded on the MET. Having spoken to Jeff Olson, Director of Japanese Art at Bonhams, a similar consensus was reached.
Each of the paintings have been laid down and bound in a brocade decorated album, with diamond patterns of various hues. There is an early wooden box to accompany the album, preserving the contents.
There is a wooden box to accompany the album, preserving the contents
One brocade decorated album in orihon format (27.1 x 22 full size, 18 x 16 cm leaf size), 36 illuminated paintings with accompanying poetry
This manuscript album is in very good shape, with some rubbing and wear to the binding, with some of the brocade fabric having worn down or frayed, more to the corners. There is some scattered wear and age-related cracking to the paintings, heavier to three of them. Refer to the photos for a better understanding of condition.