Edo period (1615–1868), about 1788
Chobunsai Eishi Japanese, 1756-1829
Japan
In this print, two women and a young boy have gone to Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto to view the cherry blossoms. The boy ties a slip of paper with a poem on it onto one of the trees. This image refers to a myth from Ono no Komachi’s life, in which a young woman visiting Kiyomizu Temple overhears a monk’s prayers for Komachi and leads him to the elderly poet’s house. The print’s pale coloring—confined to green, pink, yellow, and shades of gray—gives the scene a soft, lyrical quality.
Color woodblock print; oban