The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse

Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse

1835–36
(Japanese, 1760–1849)
Japan, Edo period (1615-1868)
color woodblock print
Sheet: 25.8 x 37.8 cm (10 3/16 x 14 7/8 in.)
Bequest of Edward L. Whittemore 1930.190
Location: not on view

Description

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 a comical disconnect between poem and image. The poem reads:

The wild hill pheasants
Drag their feet and drag their tails,
Splendid though they be,
Through this long, long weary night,
Like me, laying here alone.

Considered a god among poets, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (about 660–739) wrote of an emotionally tiring night. The nurse thought instead of the physically exhausting work of fishermen dragging a net upstream. Smoke billows across the scene, directing our attention to a figure, perhaps the nurse, in the distant house.
  • (Yamanaka & Co., New York, NY, sold to Edward L. Whittemore)
    ?-1930
    Edward L. Whittemore [1862-1930], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1930-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1930-present
  • Howard Conley Hollis. "The Edward Loder Whittemore Collection of Japanese Prints." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 17, no. 4 (1930): 64-66. 64-66
    Morse, Peter, Hokusai Katsushika, and Clay MacCauley. Hokusai, One Hundred Poets. New York: G. Braziller, 1989. 30-31
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 30, 2018-January 6, 2019).
    Japanese Prints from the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 5-October 28, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse|url=false|author=Katsushika Hokusai|year=1835–36|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1930.190