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Isoda Koryusai

Ono no Komachi Praying for Rain

Edo period (1615–1868), about 1771
Color woodblock print, hashira-e
69.3 × 11.5 cm (27.3 × 4.5 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

In one legend about Ono no Komachi, the ninth-century poet summons rain by reciting an ode, thereby ending a long drought. In this print, an 18th-century woman in modified court dress accomplishes the same feat by reading the poem in her hand, possibly a love letter.

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