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Poem by Fujiwara no Michinobu Ason (藤原道信朝臣), from the series “One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse” (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki 百人一首宇波か縁説),
ca. 1839
Published by Iseya Sanjirō 伊勢屋三次郎
is transcribed at the upper right: Though I know full well That the night will come again, E’en when day has dawned; – Yet, in truth, I hate the sight, Of the morning’s coming light.
This well-known poem has a long history of being illustrated, but never with common people engaged in grueling tasks. In this way, the print represents one of the radical means by which Hokusai reimagined the traditions of classical subject matter.
Information
ca. 1839
Asia, Japan
“The Poem of Fujiwara no Michinobu Ason,” ca. 1839
From the Series: One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin Isshu Uba-ga-Etoki)
Signed: Zen Hokusai Manji
Publisher: Eijudō
The print depicts a country village scene. In the foreground a group of half-clad men rush down a mountain path towards the village carrying a palanquin and two porters bear piles of goods, one resting for a moment to tie his shoe; in the background, a line of figures make their way slowly along a path into the distance, a red hue just visible behind the distant trees. The ancient poem from One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each is transcribed in a cartouche at the upper right, along with the series title:
Though I know full well
That the night will come again,
E’en when day has dawned; –
Yet, in truth, I hate the sight,
Of the morning’s coming light. 1
This poem, well known for centuries by the time Hokusai appropriated it for this print, has a long history of representation, but never had it been pictorialized as a scene populated by plebian figures engaged in grueling tasks, and in this way, it represents one of the radical ways that Hokusai reimagined the traditions of classical subject matter.
1 <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2021904">Peter Morse, Hokusai, One Hundred Poets (New York: G. Braziller, 1989), p. 116.</a>
