The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 15, 2026

A color woodblock print depicts a light-skinned figure sitting cross-legged, facing right. They wear a blue kimono with green leaf patterns and hold a floral fan near their face. Beside them sits a black box of books and two small cards. Panels of calligraphy and white blossoms frame the figure within a thick orange border. Metallic details accent the blossoms and the circular patterns on the clothing.

A Picture by Hishikawa Moronobu: Woman with a Set of Poem Cards

mid 1820s

Totoya Hokkei

(Japanese, 1780–1850)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
color woodblock print (surimono) with gold, silver, and embossing
Sheet: 21 x 18.4 cm (8 1/4 x 7 1/4 in.)
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith 1985.324
Location: Not on view

Description

The poem by Ganjotei Shirataka reads: Friendly, amid the starry forest of the plum branches the voice of the warbler singing of the sun and moon.
  • A. Hugh Fisher
    ?–1985
    The Kelvin Smith Collection, Cleveland, OH, given by Mrs. Kelvin [Eleanor Armstrong] Smith [1899–1998] to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1985–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “Checklist of the Kelvin Smith Bequest.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 7 (September 1988): 292–295. Mentioned: p. 292 www.jstor.org
  • A Private World: Japanese and Chinese Art from the Kelvin Smith Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 14-November 13, 1988).
  • {{cite web|title=A Picture by Hishikawa Moronobu: Woman with a Set of Poem Cards|url=false|author=Totoya Hokkei|year=mid 1820s|access-date=15 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1985.324