Uemura Shoen found the inspiration for this painting in the well-known tale of the sisters Matsukaze (Pine Wind) and Murasame (Passing Shower), who appear in traditional noh theater and joruri puppet plays.

The story begins with the Heian courtier-poet Ariwara no Yukihira, who is exiled to Suma after falling out of the emperor’s favor, encountering two maidens Matsukaze and Murasame from Tainohata on the shore of Suma Bay. Yukihira falls in love with the two young women, who draw seawater for salt. Later, Yukihira is pardoned and allowed to return to the capital. As a memento, he leaves behind his courtier’s headdress and robe on a pine tree by the shore. Matsukaze, wrapping herself in Yukihira’s robe, becomes half crazed over her lost lover, and both sisters, in their grief, become nuns, converting Yukihira’s former residence into their hermitage where they pine for him for the rest of their lives.

Many years later, an itinerant priest visits the Bay of Suma in an autumn evening and senses a story behind the lone pine tree. He then learns of the tragic love of the sisters from a villager, and offers a sutra to console their spirits. After his prayers, the priest happens upon a salt hut, where he decides to ask for accommodations for the night. While awaiting the salt maker’s return, the priest is greeted by two beautiful women who arrive with their cart after drawing brine in the moonlight. The priest, requesting for lodging, recites a poem by Yukihira, who once lived in this area: “Though I must leave now, if I hear you that you are waiting for me patiently like the pine that grows on the peak in Inaba, I shall quickly return.” The priest then explains his visit to the pine tree and prayers offering to the sisters at the bay of Suma. Hearing this, the two maidens shed tears. When asked the reason for this, the sisters reveal themselves as the ghosts of the sisters, and share their tale of miserable love.

The hanging scroll here represents the scene of the priest’s encounter with the sisters. The blue of the kimono evokes the seaside of Suma, while the crimson of the undergarment with its “fawn spot tie-dyed” (kanoko shibori) motif, which beautifully stands out against the blue, is pronounced yet subtly re ned. The gold interlocking pattern on the green obi, whose color and motif would normally be more pronounced, appears muted in places. The ingenuity of combining the light hues of the kimono and undergarment with the subdued expression of the obi has created a consolidated color scheme, which compliments the fleeting elegance of the young maiden.

Although Shoen depicted the legend of Matsukaze and Murasame and created a composition as if taking a single scene from it, the painter’s goal was to express the fleeting but timeless beauty of a woman’s body and soul. The artist skillfully captured the delicate white hands of the graceful young woman holding the red pull string of the toy brine cart and its movement in this exquisite work.

Uemura Shoen (nihonga painter; 1875−1949)
Kyoto-born nihonga painter. Her real name is Tsune. Mother of Uemura Shoko and grandmother of Uemura Atsushi. Graduated from the Kyoto Prefecture Painting School. Studied under Suzuki Shonen, Kono Bairei, and Takeuchi Seiho. Active in the Ministry of Education Art Exhibition (Bunten), and produced a lot of paintings of beauty in modern nihonga style. Became the first female receiver of the Order of Culture.