Amagoi Komachi|Komachi Praying for Rain
ca. 1765
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 11 5/16 in. (28.7 cm); W. 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Fletcher Fund, 1929
Accession Number
JP1507
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–8), Torii Kiyomitsu's *Amagoi Komachi (Komachi Praying for)*, ca. 1765, a legendary moment from Japanese folklore. The woodblock print depicts Ono no Komachi, one of Six Immortal Poets from theian era (794–5), renowned for her and poignant waka poetry. Here, she prays fervently rain amid a scene evoking women, boats, and impending showers—a nod to tales where her supernatural allure summons nature's forces. Kiyomitsu, a master of the Torii school, specialized in ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), blending kabuki theater influences with gr...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyomitsu · 1735–1785
Torii Kiyomitsu (1735–1785) was a leading master of the Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and a key figure in the third generation of the celebrated Torii school. Born into an artistic dynasty founded by his ancestor Torii Kiyonobu, Kiyomitsu trained within the family workshop and inherited its deep connections to the Kabuki theater world, for which the Torii school had long designed prom...