1921
ink
paper
From the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art
Dominant colour
百人一首 乳かゑとき 中納言敦忠|Poem by Chūnagon Atsutada (Fujiwara no Asatada), from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki) is a 1921 ink by Katsushika Hokusai, a Japonisme work, depicting Poetry, held at Metropolitan Museum of Art.
This print shows a woman in bright blue robes standing near a thick red tree wrapped in straw. She holds a fan and a scroll, with a small blue bird perched on her wrist. To the right, a blue stone lantern sits on a pedestal, while a wooden signpost leans nearby. The background has tall, dark trees and a soft gray sky. The woman’s outfit and the tree’s straw wrapping hint at a ritual or poem tied to nature. The text in the corner is Japanese, likely explaining the scene’s meaning. Look up poetry to see how artists like Hokusai linked visuals to words.
Katsushika Hokusai spent his life in Edo, now Tokyo, where he drew and carved prints for a living.
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