Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, from One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

Katsushika Hokusai designed this print series from the perspective of a confused nurse attempting to illustrate classical poetry but missing the subtle allusions. This interpretation creates what would have been considered a comical disconnect between poem and image. The poem, by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (about 660–739), reads as follows: Must I sleep alone through the long autumn nights, long like the dragging tail of the mountain pheasant separated from his dove? —translation by Joshua Mostow Hitomaro wrote of an emotionally tiring night. The nurse thought instead of the physically exhausting work of fishermen dragging a net upstream. Smoke billows across the scene, directing our attention to a figure, perhaps the nurse, in the distant house.

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