Chiyono

Information

Title	Chiyono Chiyono 千代能
Date	10/11/1889
Publisher	Akiyama Buemon (Kokkeidō) 秋山武右衛門 (滑稽堂)
Woodcarver	Noguchi Enkatsu 野口圓活
City	Tokyo

Signature	Yoshitoshi 芳年
Artist seal	Taiso 大蘇
Publisher’s seal(s)	kokkeidō こっけい堂
Blockcutter’s (and/or) printer’s) seal(s)	Enkatsu tō 圓活刀
Inscription	(in title cartouche) 千代能か　いたゝく桶の　底ぬけて　ミすたまれねハ　月もやとらす Chiyono ga / itadaku oke no / soko nukete / mizu tamareneba / tsuki mo yadorazu The bucket / that Chiyono had been given / lost its base– / now it cannot be filled with water / and so the moon cannot dwell inside (in left margin) 明治廿二年十一月十日印刷 Meiji nijūni nen jūichi gatsu jū nichi insatsu Printed in Meiji year 22 month 11 day 10 仝　年仝月　日出版 dōjō nen dōjō gatsu [blank] nichi shuppan Published in same year same month [blank] day 日本バシ区室町三丁目九バンチ Nihonbashi-ku Muromachi-chō 3-chōme 9-banchi (Publisher’s address) 印刷兼発行者秋山武右エ門 insatsu-ken-hakkōsha Akiyama Buemon printer-and-publisher Akiyama Buemon

Width	24,2 cm
Height	35,5 cm

Object number	SH2018-DM-093
Credit Line	Collection Japan Museum SieboldHuis, gift of Muck and Mieke Douma, 2018

Description

The poem was composed by Adachi Chiyono (also known as the nun Mugai Nyodai, c. 1223–1298), who reached sudden enlightenment when her bucket broke: she realized that just like the moon in reflected in the water, her own outward appearance too is merely an illusion, and must look within for a true understanding of the self.