Ono no Komachi Washing the Copybook
Edo period (1615–1868), 1764
Medium
Color woodblock print; hosoban, mizu-e
Dimensions
30.8 × 14 cm (12 1/2 × 5 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19930
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This print refers to the story in which poet Ono no Komachi washes a copy of an ancient text in order to disrupt a rival’s efforts to defame her. The work is a color print that does not use black ink for the outlines, also known as a water picture or a mizu-e. Mizu-e were particularly popular in Japan in the 1760s. This print was once in the private collection of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who sold it to Art Institute benefactor Kate Buckingham in 1915. The poem in the banner reads: No one ...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyomitsu I · 1735–1785
Japanese, 1735–1785