The Heian period (794–1185), the golden age of the Japanese imperial court, saw many women writers garner acclaim for novels and a specific type of poetry called waka. Murasaki Shikibu (about 973–1016) and Ono no Komachi (active about 833–57) are two of the country’s most renowned poets from this period.
Courting Komachi (Kayoi Komachi), from the series Seven Fashionable Figures of Ono no Komachi (Furyu nana Komachi yatushi sugata-e), about 1792
Utagawa Toyokuni I 初代 歌川 豊国
Clarence Buckingham Collection
The Poetess Ono no Komachi, 1767/68
Suzuki Harunobu 鈴木 春信
Clarence Buckingham Collection
Although little is known about them, these women and their writings inspired numerous legends, some of which became the subjects of Nō and Kabuki plays, as well as woodblock prints. Many of the prints allude to these legends though mitate-e, a playful pictorial device in which one thing is substituted for another, such as a contemporary woman standing in for a historical figure.
The Poetess Ono no Komachi, from the series Six Immortal Poets (Rokkasen), about 1810
Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾 北斎
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. H. George Mann
The images in this exhibition, made during the Edo (1615–1868) and Meiji (1868–1912) periods, show the various ways that artists, including the world-famous Katsushika Hokusai, have interpreted the stories of these influential poets.
The Poetess Shunzei no Musume, from the series The Thirty-six Immortal Women Poets (Nishikizuri onna sanjurokkasen), 1801
Chobunsai Eishi
Frederick W. Gookin Collection
Japan’s Great Female Poets is curated by Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Associate Curator of Japanese Art, the Art Institute of Chicago.
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