Ono no Komachi, by Yashima Gakutei

An image of Ono no Komachi. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing. Early 1820s. Poetry by Bunshosha Masayo. Circa 1820-circa 1823. Ukiyo-e. Notes: From the series of legendary heroines Katsushikaren gakumen fujin awase (Framed paintings of women for the Katsushika Group). Ono no Komachi was a celebrated poetess and court beauty in the early Heian period. At the request of the Emperor, she composed a prayer for rain during a drought. Praying to the Dragon God, she threw her poem slip into the pond at the temple: clouds gathered and rain fell for three days. The poem by Bunshosha reads: ‘Spring returns from the past unchanged; I long to see within the curtain of mist.’

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Ono no Komachi. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing. Early 1820s. Poetry by Bunshosha Masayo. Circa 1820-circa 1823. Ukiyo-e. Notes: From the series of legendary heroines Katsushikaren gakumen fujin awase (Framed paintings of women for the Katsushika Group). Ono no Komachi was a celebrated poetess and court beauty in the early Heian period. At the request of the Emperor, she composed a prayer for rain during a drought. Praying to the Dragon God, she threw her poem slip into the pond at the temple: clouds gathered and rain fell for three days. The poem by Bunshosha reads: ‘Spring returns from the past unchanged; I long to see within the curtain of mist.’

Image data

Accession Number: P.302-1937
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/20.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 918 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 936.56kB
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 20/1
Captured: 2017:09:04 10:10:54

Key words

19th Century beauty blind embossing colour printing court poets Edo Period embossed embossing female Fitz_PDP Gakutei hero heroes heroic heroine heroism Japan Japanese kimono Komachi metallic pigment Ono no Komachi pigment poem poetess poetry poets print surimono ukiyo-e woodblock woodcut Yashima Gakutei

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Ono no Komachi, by Yashima Gakutei"
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            |title=Ono no Komachi, by Yashima Gakutei
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