Ono no Komachi at Seki Temple (Seki), from the series The Seven Fashionable Aspects of Komachi (Furyu yatsushi nana Komachi)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1751/64
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban
Dimensions
31.2 × 14.1 cm (12 1/4 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
26770
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In the story of Ono no Komachi at Seki Temple (also the subject of a popular Nō play), a monk and a young boy visit an old woman who has a talent for poetry. When the woman utters a verse by Komachi, the monk realizes that she is Komachi herself. The poet and the boy then dance together. In this print, a young mother and her child stand in for Komachi and the boy. In the banner above them is a famous poem by Komachi: I that am lonely, Like a reed root-cut Should a stream entice me, Would go...
About the Artist
Suzuki Harunobu · 1725–1770
Suzuki Harunobu (c. 1725-1770) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist who revolutionized woodblock printing by developing nishiki-e—full-color prints using multiple woodblocks—in 1765. Before Harunobu, Japanese prints were limited to two or three colors; his innovation unleashed the entire artist's palette, transforming ukiyo-e into the vibrant art form that would later captivate Western artists from Manet...