Moonlit Evening

Terasaki Kôgyô was from the city of Akita. He actively participated in kan-ten (governmental exhibitions); learned traditional techniques from the Kanô school, the Shijô school, the Nanga school, and others; and produced works of remarkable dignity. The motif of this composition is called Kogô dankin-zu: at a time when Emperor Takakura was doting on Kogô no Tsubone, the most beautiful lady in the imperial court, it depicts Tsubone, having hidden herself deep in Sagano for a certain reason, plucking a koto under the autumn moonlight and thinking of the emperor.