Page 106 - Christies Japanese and Korean Art Sept 22 2020 NYC

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KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849)
Shonenko (Youth setting out)
Woodblock print, from the series Shika shashin kyo (A true
mirror of Chinese and Japanese poetry), signed saki no Hokusai
Iitsu hitsu, published by Moriya Jihei (Kinshindo), circa 1833-
34, framed and glazed
Vertical nagaban: 19¬ x 9 in. (49.8 x 22.9 cm.)
$8,000-10,000

A Chinese youth rides a white horse along a lake-side road,
using a willow branch for his riding crop. The young man's
servant waits patiently ahead for him to catch up, whilst a
fisherman dozes on the bank. This scene is based upon a
classical Chinese poem the 'Youth's Song' by Cui Guofu
(active early 700s), which tells of a wealthy young man who
loses his riding crop on the way home from the brothel
district of Zhangtai and is forced to substitute it for a branch
of willow.