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Image Not Available for The Poem of Ono no Komachi, from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse
The Poem of Ono no Komachi, from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse
Image Not Available for The Poem of Ono no Komachi, from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse

The Poem of Ono no Komachi, from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse

Dateca. 1838
Maker Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, 1760 - 1849
Label TextThe color of the flower has already faded away in vain have I passed through the world while gazing at the falling rains. —Ono no Komachi (active ca. 850) [Translation by Joshua Mostow, from Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image.] Drawing inspiration from Ono no Komachi’s poem written almost 1000 years earlier, Hokusai communicates a poetic sensibility in this print. In a rustic landscape, villagers are engaged in their daily work. A man in the center is sweeping away petals that have fallen from a cherry tree, as if signaling the transitory nature of life.
Object number2010.47.6
ProvenanceCollection of Tadamasa Hayashi (1853–1906), Japan, and Paris, France; Henri Vever (1854-1942), France; [Sotheby’s, London, Highly Important Japanese Prints, Illustrated Books and Drawings from the Henri Vever Collection: Part II, Mar. 26, 1975, lot no. 306]; likely purchased at auction by [Peter Gilder, Arts and Designs of Japan, San Francisco, California]; private collection; [Christie's, New York, An Important Collection of Japanese Prints, Mar. 25, 2003, sale no. 1298, lot no. 100, reproduced p. 63]; purchased at auction by Allan Kollar, Seattle, Washington, 2003; to Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington, 2010
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints, Apr. 1 - July 4, 2010. Text by Catherine Roche. Cat. no. 47, reproduced p. 70. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Legends, Tales, Poetry: Visual Narrative in Japanese Art, Dec. 22, 2012 - July 21, 2013. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Tabaimo: Utsutsushi Utsushi, Nov. 11, 2016 - Feb. 26, 2017. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing [on view Feb. 8, 2020 - Mar. 21, 2021].
Credit LineGift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
DimensionsSheet size: 10 1/4 x 14 1/2 in. (26 x 36.8 cm)
MediumWoodblock print; ink and color on paper
Image Not Available for The Poem of Sangi Hitoshi (Minamoto no Hitoshi), from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)
The Poem of Sangi Hitoshi (Minamoto no Hitoshi), from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1838
Object number: 2010.47.4
Photo: Susan Cole
Plum Garden at Kameido (Kameido Ume yashiki), from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)
1857
Object number: 2017.23.22
Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn
Drum Bridge and Setting Sun Hill, Meguro (Meguro, Taikobashi, Yuhi ga oka), from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)
1857
Object number: 2017.23.25
Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn
Moon Cape, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo
1857
Object number: 2017.23.23
Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn
Ichigaya Hachiman Shrine (Ichigaya Hachiman), from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)
1858
Object number: 2017.23.3
Photo: Susan Cole
Kinryuzan Temple, Asakusa (Asakusa, Kinryuzan), from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo (Meisho Edo hyakkei)
1856
Object number: 2017.23.24
Photo: Scott Leen
Deep water at the Division into the Three Forks, from the series One Hundred Views of Edo
1857
Object number: 2023.11.79
Photo: William Wickett
South Wind, Clear Dawn (Gaifu kaisei), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830-32
Object number: 2010.15
Image Not Available for Tago Beach near Eijiri on the Tokaido Highway, Simplified View (Tokaido Eijiri tago-no-ura ryakuzu), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)
Tago Beach near Eijiri on the Tokaido Highway, Simplified View (Tokaido Eijiri tago-no-ura ryakuzu), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830-33
Object number: 2010.47.2
Image Not Available for Rainstorm beneath the Summit (Sanka haku-u), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)
Rainstorm beneath the Summit (Sanka haku-u), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjurokkei)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830-32
Object number: 2010.47.3
Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn
In the Well of the Wave off Kanagawa, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
1830-32
Object number: 2009.71
Photo: Colleen Kollar Zorn
Yoshida on the Tōkaidō, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830-32
Object number: 2010.47.1