Yamato meisho zue, by Takehara Shunchosai

An image of Shunchosai, Takehara (active 1772-d.1801), Yamato meisho zue. Book from woodblocks. Text by Yadoya no Meshimori. Illustrations designed by Shunchosai. Published by Takehashi 'Shonoya' Heisuke of Osaka, 1791. An illustrated gazetteer to the province of Yamato (modern Nara Prefecture). The poem on this page is by Fujiwara Teika (Sadaie): Shirotae no / sode ka to zo omou / wakana tsumu / Mikakigahara no / ume no hatsuhana. (I thought they were a pure white sleeve, those first blossoms on the plum trees at Mikakigahara, where they are picking spring herbs.) The poem is said to come from the "Zoku-goshui" poetry collection. Mikakigahara may be an area of Yoshino, but "mi-kaki" also suggests the garden of the imperial palace. Perhaps Kuniyoshi selected the illustration because Teika's and Emperor Koko's poems both refer to "wakana tsumu" (picking spring herbs).

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Shunchosai, Takehara (active 1772-d.1801), Yamato meisho zue. Book from woodblocks. Text by Yadoya no Meshimori. Illustrations designed by Shunchosai. Published by Takehashi 'Shonoya' Heisuke of Osaka, 1791. An illustrated gazetteer to the province of Yamato (modern Nara Prefecture). The poem on this page is by Fujiwara Teika (Sadaie): Shirotae no / sode ka to zo omou / wakana tsumu / Mikakigahara no / ume no hatsuhana. (I thought they were a pure white sleeve, those first blossoms on the plum trees at Mikakigahara, where they are picking spring herbs.) The poem is said to come from the "Zoku-goshui" poetry collection. Mikakigahara may be an area of Yoshino, but "mi-kaki" also suggests the garden of the imperial palace. Perhaps Kuniyoshi selected the illustration because Teika's and Emperor Koko's poems both refer to "wakana tsumu" (picking spring herbs).

Image data

Accession Number: P.3692-R
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Photographer name: Michael Jones
Image height: 792 pixels
Image width: 1024 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh)
Filesize: 225.32kB
Exposure time: 1/17
ISO Speed: 50
Captured: 2012:08:02 16:44:05

Key words

18th Century 458392 Country of origin Date Department Edo Period Fitz_PDP Fujiwara Teika Japan Japanese Medium Nationalities Object Type Other Keywords People Takehara Shunchosai Winter Workflow _WF_Adtd _WF_KWD _WF_OPACtd _WF_PCr blossom book clothes clothing cold costume exterior fashion female frosty gazetteer hair hairstyle illustration janomegasa kimono lady mountains plum tree poem poetry print seasons snowing snowy umbrellas woman woodblock Artist/Maker

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026)
            "Yamato meisho zue, by Takehara Shunchosai"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-188640 Accessed: 2026-01-14 17:08:04

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