A Lady About to Write a Poem

Art Historical Context

Created around 1820 during Japan’s Edo period, *A Lady About to Write a Poem* captures a quiet, intimate moment of literary inspiration. Yashima Gakutei rendered the scene as a surimono, a privately commissioned woodblock print often exchanged among poetry circles. The modest size—roughly eight by seven inches—allowed these works to be appreciated up close, where fine details such as the woman’s poised brush and the lacquered writing desk could be savored. Surimono prints combined image and verse in a single elegant object, reflecting the period’s flourishing urban culture in which merchants ...

About the Artist

Yashima Gakutei · 1786–1868

Yashima Gakutei (c. 1786–1868), born in Osaka as the illegitimate son of a Tokugawa shogunate samurai named Hirata, adopted the name from his mother's subsequent marriage into the Yashima clan. Little is documented about his early years beyond these familial ties, but he pursued artistic training under the esteemed ukiyo-e masters Totoya Hokkei and Katsushika Hokusai, absorbing their precision in ...