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A work made of color woodblock print; yoko oban.

Sojo Henjo, twelfth poet in the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse

c. 1835/36

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾 北斎 Japanese, 1760-1849

Japan

This is a scene based on the poet’s early career as a descendant of the imperial family and as a court minister, before the poet became a priest. The scene is springtime at court, where a young woman of nobility performs a dance (usually held in the fall) related to the success of the rice crop that was planted annually in the spring by the emperor. Later, of course, this poet became known as the first of the six Poetic Immortals, for his modern poems.

Color woodblock print; yoko oban

Arts of Asia