The Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry (Sanjūrokkasen 三十六歌仙) 1799

Yosa Buson created this woodblock print titled, *The Thirty-six Immortal Poets* in Japan, sometime before his death in 1784. The print revives a classical theme that had become very popular within court circles from the Heian period onwards. The idea of selecting exemplary poets and immortalizing them through portraiture became an important tool for establishing a Japanese cultural identity in painting and calligraphy. The men selected became cultural heroes through a process of careful negotiation between artists, patrons, and literary critics. The visual and textual elements of the work became a powerful means of celebrating Japanese identity. These portraits were often displayed in aristocratic homes. They might also be found in temples or shrines dedicated to literature and the arts. These institutions helped to define artistic taste. Historians use surviving texts from this period, from private diaries to official records, to learn more about the social conditions that gave rise to the fashion for portraits of poets.