Parody of Minamoto no Tametomo 1765

Editor: This is "Parody of Minamoto no Tametomo," a woodblock print by Suzuki Harunobu from around 1765. It’s a beautiful print, but I can’t help feeling there's a lot of sorrow in it. What stands out to you in this work? Curator: Sorrow, you say? Perhaps. I see instead a kind of gentle melancholy, mixed with the sweet irony of Ukiyo-e. Harunobu was a master of *mitate*, visual puns, and playing with cultural allusions. Notice how the figures and scene *resemble* a famous warrior tale but with key, almost imperceptible distortions. He presents an image of domestic life - women indoors near a storm surge rather than Minamoto no Tametomo, the legendary archer, who bravely faced a similar scene alone. It's a layered experience! Editor: So it's like a joke? Is it meant to be funny? Curator: Funny, or playfully poignant, perhaps. What do *you* think is the role of the wave imagery through the doorway? Does that remind you of another tale? Editor: I hadn't thought about it. Maybe the story of Lady Kenreimon-in being led away to exile, clutching her son to escape drowning in the storm surge? I always thought it sad because, with the threat of the storm outside the door, the man wielding the bow won't face it. It is melancholy after all! Curator: Precisely. What began with bravery or purpose becomes a gentle story. A shared human story perhaps. The strength lies in intimacy and vulnerability. You've found it!