Ono no Komachi Washing the Copybook (Soshiarai Komachi), from the series The Seven Ukiyo-e Aspects of Komachi (Ukiyo-e nana Komachi)
Edo period (1615–1868), about 1779
Medium
Color woodblock print; chuban
Dimensions
25.6 × 18.9 cm (10 1/8 × 7 1/2 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22599
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this image, two young women chat on the veranda of a house while one does her washing in a basin. This scene recalls a story from the life of Ono no Komachi in which one of the poet’s rivals accused her of plagiarizing one of her poems from an ancient book, when in fact he had added her text to the original document. To prove her innocence and thwart the plan, Komachi scrubbed the freshly applied ink from the ancient text.
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...