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Righteousness, from The Five Virtues

Harunobu Suzuki1767

The Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States

Two young male courtesans enjoy reading in their quarters by candlelight. One holds an illustrated book recognizable as the drawing manual <em>Illustrated Book of the Treasure-Bag of Sketches</em> (絵本写宝袋), published in 1720 by Tachibana Morikuni (1679–1748). The poem at the top translates as follows:

In all things to be humble,
discern the path of reason,
and abstain from falsehood.
This is what we call righteousness.

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  • Title: Righteousness, from The Five Virtues
  • Creator: Suzuki Harunobu (Japanese, 1724-1770)
  • Date Created: 1767
  • Physical Dimensions: Overall: 36.6 x 21.6 cm (14 7/16 x 8 1/2 in.)
  • Provenance: Louis V. Ledoux, Edith Ehrman [1932–1974], New York, NY, consigned to Sotheby's for sale after her death, (Sotheby Parke Bernet, June 17, 1975, lot 29), (R. E. Lewis, Inc., California, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Kelvin Smith), The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Type: Print
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1985.307
  • Medium: color woodblock print
  • Original Title: 五常の内 義
  • Inscriptions: 鈴木春信画, Nanigoto mo/ Mi o herikudari/ Ri o wakachi/ Itsuwari naki o/ Gi towa iu beki
  • Fun Fact: The artist's signature is on the door painted with a mandarin drake in a snowy scene.
  • Department: Japanese Art
  • Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
  • Credit Line: The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith
  • Collection: Japanese Art
  • Accession Number: 1985.307
The Cleveland Museum of Art

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