Gravemarker Moon

Artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 月岡芳年 (Japanese, 1839–1892)

DateMarch 1886

Mediumwoodblock print, ink, color, and embossing on paper

DimensionsOban: 35.7 × 24 cm (14 1/16 × 9 7/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineAlexander H. Bullock Fund

Terms

Object number2002.191

DescriptionOno no Komachi (about 825–900) was one of the most legendary poets in Japanese history, though she is often remembered for her remarkable beauty and cold demeanor towards suitors that did not interest her. Perhaps as a form of literary revenge, a convention arose for depicting her old age as haggard and destitute, though there is no historical evidence to suggest this was the case. In one of the five Noh plays named after her, Komachi and the Stupa from which this print takes its name, a 100-year old Komachi is encountered on a ruined Buddhist stupa, where she reminisces on the tragedies of her lost loves.
Label TextOno no Komachi (about 825–900) was one of the most legendary poets in Japanese history, though she is often remembered for her remarkable beauty and cold demeanor towards suitors that did not interest her. Perhaps as a form of literary revenge, a convention arose for depicting her old age as haggard and destitute, though there is no historical evidence to suggest this was the case. In one of the five Noh plays named after her, Komachi and the Stupa from which this print takes its name, a 100-year old Komachi is encountered on a ruined Buddhist stupa, where she reminisces on the tragedies of her lost loves.ProvenanceKatie and Scott McDonald, Rochester, NY

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