Inui Tai | Woodblock Print

The lilies blooming by the hedge of my beloved house – 
when called “yuri,” the name sounds like “not desiring.” 
 
A poem by Kino Toyokawa, drawn by Inui Tai from the Man’yoshu (Book VIII, Poem 1466). In the love poems of this ancient anthology (compiled in the 8th century), wordplays often convey the tension of romance, longing, or rejection. - The speaker looks at the lilies blooming by his beloved’s hedge. The word yuri (lily) phonetically overlaps with iyuri (unwilling or not desiring). This creates a punning lament: the flowers’ very name seems to echo the woman’s unwillingness, as though nature itself voices her rejection.
 
Inui Tai (1929-2023)
Woodblock print on paper
27.1 x 24.4 cm (10½ in. x 9½ in.)
Papersize 30.9 x 31.1 cm (12 x 12¼ in.)