The Beach at Sumiyoshi from the Tales of Ise

The Beach at Sumiyoshi from the Tales of Ise

Tawaraya Sōtatsu

The poem written on the painting comes from The Tales of Ise, a 10th-century poetic narrative of love: In autumn the wild geese cry And chrysanthemums are in flower, Yet how pleasant to dwell By the sea in springOn the Beach of Sumiyoshi.

Colors in this work

Details

Date
c. 1634
Dimensions
image: height 0.245 m, width 0.209 m; overall: height 0.406 m, width 0.332 m, depth 0.016 m; open and extended: height 0.404 m, width 0.664 m
Department
Japanese Art
Holding institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Image provider
cleveland-museum-of-art
License
CC0-1.0
Credit
John L. Severance Fund

Art Genome Taxonomy

12 tags

Subject Matter

  • The title identifies a beach setting, while the image shows stylized vegetation, rocks, and horizontal land- or water-like forms.

  • Human Figure Visual · 99%

    Three human figures are clearly depicted in the lower portion of the composition.

  • Figures in Nature Visual · 97%

    The figures are situated within a stylized natural setting of trees, shrubs, rocks, and ground forms.

  • Text Both · 99%

    Vertical Japanese writing is visibly integrated into the composition, and the catalog identifies it as a poem from The Tales of Ise.

  • Related to Literature Metadata · 99%

    The catalog explicitly connects the work to The Tales of Ise, described as a tenth-century poetic narrative of love.

Medium and Techniques

  • Painting Metadata · 99%

    The catalog classifies the object as a painting and describes ink, color, and gold on paper.

  • The medium is described as a poetry sheet mounted as an album leaf, and the dimensions include an open and extended format.

  • The visible brush-written Japanese inscription and the poetry-sheet format support the use of East Asian calligraphy.

Time Periods

  • 17th Century Art Metadata · 99%

    The catalog dates the work to c. 1634, within the seventeenth century.

Geographic Regions

  • Japanese Art Metadata · 99%

    The Cleveland Museum of Art identifies the work as Japanese art made in Japan during the Edo period.

Materials

  • Use of Paper Metadata · 99%

    Paper is explicitly identified as the support in the catalog medium.

  • Gold Both · 99%

    Gold is explicitly listed in the medium, and a broad gold-colored ground is clearly visible in the image.

Source & rights

Tawaraya Sōtatsu (Japanese, c. 1570–c. 1640). The Beach at Sumiyoshi from the Tales of Ise. Cleveland Museum of Art.

High-resolution sources