Letter to Isabella Stewart Gardner from Boston
correspondent
Okakura Kakuzo
(Yokohama, 1862 - 1913, Akakura)
Date22 November 1910
Place MadeBoston, Massachusetts, United States, North America
MediumInk on paper
ClassificationsManuscripts
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberARC.004127
eMuseum ID722945
Previous NumberU3n98
EmbARK ObjectID30105
Other NumberU3n29.1-38
TMS Source ID13687
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb Commentary
This letter, penned by Okakura Kakuzo, is written from the voice and perspective of Kowun, a fluffy white kitten that Gardner gifted Okakura. Here, Kowun (speaking through Okakura), introduces itself to Gardner, and offers multiple nicknames that she can use for the cat in events such as ‘moments of tenderness’ or when one is feeling ‘silly’. The nickname “Cochin” seems to have been the one that stuck—further letters ‘from the cat’ are signed with that name.
BibliographyNotesNina Wutrich, "Correspondence from Cochin the Cat," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 8 August 2023, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/correspondence-cochin-cat
MarksNotesStationery printed: Museum of Fine Arts, / Boston.