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Collection of Short Poems in Chinese from Itako (Itako zekku shū 潮来絶句集)

Katsushika, Hokusai, 1760-1849 · 1802 · [Edo: Tsutaya Juzaburō 二代目蔦屋重三郎] · 15 pictures

A Japanese woodblock picture book printed in Edo in 1802 by Tsutaya Juzaburō and illustrated by Katsushika Hokusai, offering Chinese-style short poems set beside scenes of women and interiors. The double-page spreads show women in kimono indoors by sliding screens, with a seated figure at a writing desk, a figure with a cat, and a woman at a balcony beside plants, with poem columns printed in the margins; a designer might take the flat colour fields, the framing of interior views by screens and doorways, and the calligraphic text panels as layout models.

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library