Plum Blossoms
18th–19th century
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions
Image: 41 1/4 × 12 1/2 in. (104.7 × 31.7 cm) Overall with mounting: 68 7/16 × 18 1/4 in. (173.8 × 46.4 cm) Overall with knobs: 68 7/16 × 20 3/8 in. (173.8 × 51.8 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015
Accession Number
2015.300.171
Tags
Art Historical Context
Minagawa Kien’s *um Blossoms*, a hanging scroll created during Japan’s Edo period (1615–1868), captures the quiet elegance of nature through the medium of ink on paper. This format was especially valued in East Asian traditions for its portability and intimate viewing experience, allowing the painting to be displayed seasonally in a tokonoma alcove. The restrained palette of black ink highlights the artist’s skillful brushwork, where delicate lines and subtle washes evoke the fragile petals and sturdy branches of plum trees. Plum blossoms held deep cultural resonance in Edo-period Japan, symb...