Ono no Komachi Washing the Copybook (Soshiarai Komachi), from the series The Seven Ukiyo-e Aspects of Komachi (Ukiyo-e nana Komachi)

Arts of Asia

Edo period (1615–1868), about 1779

Torii Kiyonaga
Japanese, 1752-1815

In this image, two young women chat on the veranda of a house while one does her washing in a basin. This scene recalls a story from the life of Ono no Komachi in which one of the poet’s rivals accused her of plagiarizing one of her poems from an ancient book, when in fact he had added her text to the original document. To prove her innocence and thwart the plan, Komachi scrubbed the freshly applied ink from the ancient text.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Asia

Artist: Torii Kiyonaga (Publisher)
Title: Ono no Komachi Washing the Copybook (Soshiarai Komachi), from the series The Seven Ukiyo-e Aspects of Komachi (Ukiyo-e nana Komachi)
Place: Japan (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1775–1785
Medium: Color woodblock print; chuban
Inscriptions: Signature: Kiyonaga gwa
Dimensions: 25.6 × 18.9 cm (10 1/8 × 7 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Clarence Buckingham Collection
Reference Number: 1925.2614
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/22599/manifest.json

Ernest Francisco Fenollosa (1853–1908), Boston; by descent to his wife, Sidney McCall (1865–1954; born Mary McNeill, also Mary McNeil Fenollosa), Boston, 1908; sold to Clarence Buckingham (1854–1913), Chicago, 1909; by descent to his sister, Kate Sturges Buckingham (1858–1937), Chicago, 1913; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1925.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Suggested Terms

Ono no Komachi Washing the Copybook (Soshiarai Komachi), from the series The Seven Ukiyo-e Aspects of Komachi (Ukiyo-e nana Komachi)

Currently Off View

Date:

Artist:

About this artwork

Status

Department

Artist

Title

Place

Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Medium

Inscriptions

Dimensions

Credit Line

Reference Number

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

Extended information about this artwork

Provenance

Share

Explore Further

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Gallery actions

Image actions

Share

IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.