Suzuki Harunobu 鈴木 春信
Japanese, 1725 (?)-1770
Ono no Komachi Washing the Book
INV-2080
Suzuki Harunobu 鈴木 春信
Japanese, 1725 (?)-1770Edo period (1615–1868), 1765/66
Ono no Komachi Washing the Book
Suzuki Harunobu 鈴木 春信 Japanese, 1725 (?)-1770 →Japanese (culture or style)woodblock printprint
Date
Edo period (1615–1868), 1765/66
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
27.9 × 20.3 cm (11 × 7 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Clarence Buckingham Collection
This design originally appeared as part of the series The Seven Fashionable Aspects of Komachi, but here it was adapted for a pictorial calendar for the year 1766. The boy is about to pour water over the woman’s writing, much in the same way Ono no Komachi washed a scroll to remove text added by a rival in a poetry contest. The name of the year is written on the boy’s sash, the short months (with 29 days) appear on the letter, and the long months (with 30 days) are written on the woman’s sleeves.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
Komurasaki of the Miuraya and Shirai Gompachi (Miuraya Komurasaki, Shirai Gompachi)
Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿 Japanese, c.1753-1806
Hamamatsu, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
Mitsuke: Ferries Crossing the Tenryu River (Mitsuke, Tenryugawa funawatashi), from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)," also known as the Tokaido with Poem (Kyoka iri Tokaido)
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川 広重 Japanese, 1797-1858
