Poem 72-42

20th century

Japanese, 1924 - 2000

In this elegant print Maki uses stylized white seal script on a black ground to transcribe a poem by 9th-century Tang poet Du Fu. A translation of the poem is cited below. The content of the poem, however, is far less significant than its visual properties, which create a striking balance between orderly formality and energetic playfulness.

Spring Prospect

The nation shattered, mountains and river remain,
city in spring, grass and trees burgeoning.
Feeling the times, blossoms draw tears,
hating separation, birds alarm the heart.
Beacon fires three months in succession,
a letter from home worth ten thousand in gold.
White hairs, fewer for the scratching,
soon too few to hold a hairpin up.

(Translation by Burton Watson)

Screenprint with embossing

Gift of Frances and Thomas Blakemore

98.53.125

Not currently on view

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