# Poem

- By: Rai Shunsui (Japanese, 1746–1816)
- Date: 1812
- Medium: leaf from a pair of folding albums; ink on silk
- Classification: Portfolio
- Dimensions: Sheet: 25.5 x 17.2 cm (10 1/16 x 6 3/4 in.)
- Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
- Credit line: Gift of Mary B. Lee, C. Bingham Blossom, Dudley S. Blossom III, Laurel B. Kovacik, and Elizabeth B. Blossom, in memory of Elizabeth B. Blossom
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.117.2.6)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/1972.117.2.6/1972.117.2.6_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The Nanga, or "Southern School" painters of 17th- and 18th-century Japan were greatly influenced by Chinese culture. The subjects and styles of their work reflected the contemporary Japanese taste for imported Chinese objects and learning. A common practice among Nanga painters was the exchange of small paintings and calligraphies. They also celebrated special gatherings of artist-friends by producing individual sheets that were then gathered together in albums. The sheets shown here were part of such a gathering.