Page 171 - Christies Japanese and Korean Art Sept 22 2020 NYC

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KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849) A group of fishermen laboriously dragging a net from the ocean
Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro towards the hill. Next to them is a campfire where smoke is seen
soaring to the gloomy sky. A minute figure sitting in the distant hut
Woodblock print, from the series Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki (One is believed to be the poet, pondering the dramatic moment. Scholar
Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse), signed saki no Hokusai
Matthi Forrer noted that Hokusai depicted such “dragging” motion
manji, published by Nishimuraya Yohachi (Eijudo), circa 1835-36
to allude to “ashihiki” in the first line of the poem. The elongation
Horizontal oban: 10 x 14æ in. (25.5 x 37.5 cm.)
and movement of the net and the smoke also characterized the
$15,000-20,000 pheasant’s tail described by the poet.
The poem reads:
Hitomaro (dates unknown), court poet in the late Asuka period, is
best remembered for his elegies for royalty. A significant figure in
Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) and Sanjurokkasen Ashibiki no yamadori no o no Must I sleep alone through the long
(Thirty-Six Poetry Immortals), he is praised Waka Nisei (Two shidari-o no naganagashi yo o autumn nights, long like the dragging
Greatest Poetry Sages) along with Yamabe no Akihito. hitori kamo nemu tail of the mountain pheasant