Vernissage
Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse

Katsushika Hokusai

Japanese, 1760–1849

Poem by Minamoto no Muneyuki from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse, 1835–36

Color woodblock print

24.2 × 35.3 cm (9 ½ × 14 in.)

The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Kelvin Smith Collection, given by Mrs. Kelvin Smith

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 on this print reads as follows: In the mountain village, it is in winter that my loneliness increases most, when I think of how both have dried up, the grasses and people’s visits. —Translation by Joshua Mostow While nobleman Minamoto no Muneyuki (died 939) wrote of dying grasses, the nurse imagines instead a lively scene of hunters warming themselves around a fire.

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More by Katsushika Hokusai

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Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Okazaki Yahagi no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Court Lady
Poem by Emperor Tenchi, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by the Nurse
Shichirigahama in Sagami Province (Sōshū Shichirigahama), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, from One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse
The Lake at Hakone in Sagami Province (Sōshū Hakone kosui), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Surugadai in Edo (Tōto Sundai), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Poem by Fujiwara no Yoshitaka, from the series One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets Explained by an Old Nurse
Mitsui Shop at Surugachō in Edo (Edo Surugachō Mitsui mise ryaku zu), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Fukui Bridge in Echizen Province (Echizen Fukui no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Bamboo

Hanging in