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Hiroshige - A shrine among trees on a moor
Identifier
001905
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
In Hiroshige’s painting – ‘A shrine among trees on a moor’ – descending geese at Haneda we see a marshy landscape with a grove of trees – an island grove in other words - and a shrine with a gate dedicated to the goddess Benten. Two flocks of geese descend from the sky. In the upper part of the print are four kyoka poems one each by Momozono Michiki, Asayado Manao, Daiseiro Tsunagi and Taihaido Nomimasu. The first of the poems is by Nomimasi and reads
The road to Haneda seems obstructed
As if naughty children
Are holding a rope across
The descending geese
So a block on the spiritual path.
