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

1830·Color woodblock print; yoko oban·26.2 × 37.6 cm (10 3/8 × 14 13/16 in.)

<p>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.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1830
Medium: Color woodblock print; yoko oban
Dimensions: 26.2 × 37.6 cm (10 3/8 × 14 13/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai

Artist

Katsushika Hokusai

Painting

Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock print series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji includes the iconic print The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Hokusai was instrumental in developing ukiyo-e from a style of portraiture largely focused on courtesans and actors into a much broader style of art that focused on landscapes, plants, and animals. His works had a significant influence on Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet during the wave of Japonisme that spread across Europe in the late 19th century.

Tokyo, Japan

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Poem by Gon-Chunagon Masafusa (Oe no Masafusa), from the series “One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by a Wet Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)”

1921 · Color woodblock print

WW-1921-018489