Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国

Parrot Komachi (あふむ小まち Ōmu Komachi)

Maker

Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国 (1769-1825

Title

Parrot Komachi (あふむ小まち Ōmu Komachi)
from the series Modern Girls as the Seven Komachi (今やう娘七小町 Imayō musume nana Komachi)
Imayo musume nana komachi

Period

Edo Period

Year

1810

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Vertical ōban: 37.2 x 24.8 cm (14 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription Text/Poem: [text and poem] Poem in cartouche:
Kumo no ue wa
arashi mukashi ni
kawaranedo
mishi tamadare no
uchi zo yukashiki

Nothing has changed from long ago above the clouds [the court]
yet I long for what I saw behind the curtain of beads

Another translation in Clark, Dawn of the Floating World (p. 153) reads:
The cloud-capped palace
where I lived long ago
has not changed at all;
but I saw through my bead curtains-
Yes, I think fondly of that!

Signature: Toyokuni ga

Seals: Artist's seal | toshidama; censor's seal | kiwame

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1405

Type

Exhibition History

Defying Boundaries
Women in Japanese Art
Apr 27, 2024 – Nov 04, 2024

Label copy

In each of these prints, the ninth-century poet Ono no Komachi is transformed into a young woman from the 1800s. Komachi was one of the Six Poetry Immortals (六歌仙Rokkasen) of Japanese waka poetry. Little is known of her life, but tales of her legendary beauty and wit are abundant. Today, the name Komachi has come to be synonymous with feminine beauty. In the late 1300s to early 1400s, Komachi was memorialized in several popular Nō plays known as the Seven Komachi (七小町 nana komachi). During the Edo period (1615–1868), images from the Seven Komachi were frequently parodied in prints. 

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Utagawa Toyokuni 歌川豊国 (1769-1825
b. in Edo, Japan)
Parrot Komachi (あふむ小まち Ōmu Komachi); from the series Modern Girls as the Seven Komachi (今やう娘七小町 Imayō musume nana Komachi); Imayo musume nana komachi, 1810
Polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e)
Vertical ōban: 37.2 x 24.8 cm (14 5/8 x 9 3/4 inches)
Bequest of Isaac C. Bates 13.1405

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