“The Poet Sōjō Henjō (816–890) Slipping a Letter into a Woman’s Sleeve,” from the series Five Colors of Love for the Six Poetic Immortals (Goshiki-zome rokkasen)

Description

Sōjō Henjō and a woman sit in the lower part of Kitagawa Utamaro’s image, beneath a large quiet field above. The woman wears red and the man pale green. Identified as the poet Sōjō Henjō slipping a letter into a woman’s sleeve, the scene makes a small gesture carry the connection between the figures within an otherwise spacious composition.

Made around 1798, the woodblock print belongs to Five Colors of Love of the Six Poetic Immortals and uses ink and color on paper. Henjō’s ninth-century lifetime belongs to the represented poet, rather than the date of the artwork. Utamaro gives the literary subject an intimate form, concentrating on an exchange whose physical scale is modest. The open surroundings make that encounter feel especially close, allowing the letter’s movement to become the scene’s point of attention.

Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Kitagawa Utamaro collection.