1836
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, from One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse is a 1836 by Katsushika Hokusai, a Romanticism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This painting shows a scene from a Japanese poem. The poem is about a person who is lonely at night. The artist, Hokusai, illustrated this poem in a way that is a bit funny because he didn't fully understand the poem's subtle meanings. Look up the work of artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849) to see more of his unique illustrations.
Katsushika Hokusai designed this print series from the perspective of a confused nurse attempting to illustrate classical poetry but missing the subtle allusions. This interpretation creates what would have been considered a comical disconnect between poem and image. The poem, by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (about 660–739), reads as follows: Must I sleep alone through the long autumn nights, long like the dragging tail of the mountain pheasant separated from his dove? —translation by Joshua Mostow Hitomaro wrote of an emotionally tiring night. The nurse thought instead of the physically exhausting…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
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