Twenty-four Illustrations of Poems of the Thirty-six Poets
A set of Japanese woodblock prints published around 1790 by the artist Torii Kiyonaga, illustrating classical waka poems from the anthology of thirty-six poets for a readership of collectors and poetry enthusiasts. The pictures show courtly women and nobles in layered silk robes, seated in interiors and garden settings, with calligraphic verses floating in cloud-shaped panels, a flat palette of muted reds, greens and ochres, and elegant, restrained gestures a designer could borrow for pattern, textile and calligraphic composition.
