The Poem of Ono no Komachi, from the series One Hundred Poets, One Verse Each, as Told by the Nurse
ca. 1838
The 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.
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Sheet size: 10 1/4 x 14 1/2 in. (26 x 36.8 cm)
Gift of Mary and Allan Kollar, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2010.47.6
Provenance: Collection 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
