Ono no Komachi Washing the Copybook (Soshiarai Komachi)
Edo period (1615–1868), 1735/40
Medium
Hand-colored woodblock print; hosoban
Dimensions
29.6 × 16 cm (11 11/16 × 6 5/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
13676
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this first print from a series showing seven scenes from the life of Ono no Komachi, the poet washes a book to remove text recently added by a rival poet, Ōtomo no Kuronushi, likely depicted as the angry figure on the right. This image was printed in black ink and then hand colored. The artist, Torii Kiyomasu II, came from the famous Torii line of printmakers, who specialized in depictions of actors, birds, historical subjects, and flowers. They made up one of the principal schools of artist...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyomasu II · 1706–1763
At one point this artist was incorrectly identified as Kiyonobu II.