Ono no Komachi, from the series A Collection of Fashionable Beauties of Japan (Wakoku bijin ryaku shu)
Edo period (1615–1868), n.d.
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
26.6 × 19.1 cm (10 1/2 × 7 9/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
36630
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
A beautiful young woman fixes her hairstyle in the mirror, while an older woman’s thoughts are expressed in the poem above: If only I could grow old without changing my appearance, I would not mind the limit of my life. (Translation by Chie Hirano) Ono no Komachi often lamented the inevitability of aging in her poems, and her story is closely associated with the idea of fleeting beauty. The cherry blossoms in the vase on the veranda symbolize impermanence due to their short lifespans, reinf...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...