Poem by Ono no Komachi c. 1835 - 1836

Katsushika Hokusai created this woodblock print, “Poem by Ono no Komachi”, in Japan. Let’s consider how Hokusai uses imagery to comment on the social structures of his time. This print comes from a series called One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse. The poems come from the medieval anthology, *Hyakunin isshu*, and in this series of prints, Hokusai visualizes the poems with scenes of everyday life. Here, the poem by Ono no Komachi—a famous poet from the Heian period—is set against the scene of a paper-making workshop. What's fascinating here is the relationship between the high art of classical poetry and the low art of paper production; between the refined world of the aristocracy and the industrious life of the merchant class, who were the main consumers of woodblock prints. Is Hokusai setting up a contrast or suggesting an integration of these two worlds? To better understand the social role of art in Hokusai's Japan, one can investigate the history of woodblock printing, the development of the merchant class, and the institutional context of art production and consumption.