Poetry, Music & Feminine Beauty — Kunisada's One Hundred Poets 🌸

🌸 Today we explore an exquisite ca. 1844 woodblock print by Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞) — a playful and poetic reimagining of one of Japan's most beloved classical poetry anthologies. 🎴

About the Artwork

This nishiki-e (polychrome woodblock print) is no. 37 from the series A Pictorial Commentary on One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets (百人一首絵抄). It depicts the ancient poet Mibu no Tadamine (壬生忠岑, active 898–920) reimagined as a beautiful Edo-period woman, seated before a raised tokonoma (display alcove) and playing the kyū — Japan's only traditional bowed string instrument. 🌙

This playful device, known as yatsushi, was a popular Edo-period parody tradition in which historical figures — whether male or female — were depicted as glamorous contemporary women in gorgeous kimono. The poem cards in the composition carry Tadamine's celebrated waka:

"There is nothing sadder than that time before daybreak, when we had to say farewell and the cold-hearted morning moon could still be seen."

Part of a Triptych

This print can form the left-hand sheet of a triptych with no. 35 (a beauty playing koto) and no. 36 (a beauty playing shakuhachi) — three women forming a musical ensemble in concert. 🌸

About the Artist: Utagawa Kunisada

Utagawa Kunisada (1786–1864) was the most commercially successful ukiyo-e artist of the 19th century, celebrated for his actor portraits and bijinga (beauty prints). His One Hundred Poets series is among his most refined and poetic achievements. 🎭

Explore the Atelier UKIYO Collection

At Atelier UKIYO, we celebrate the timeless beauty of ukiyo-e art through premium art prints inspired by the masters of the Edo period. 🌸 Available as posters, framed prints, apparel, and accessories.