Ono no Komachi at Seki Temple, from the series The Seven Fashionable Komachi (Furyu nana Komachi)

Two young women walking on a dock cover their faces demurely as they encounter a man in a boat. One wears a robe with a cherry-blossom design, a flower strongly associated with Ono no Komachi, a famous ninth-century poet. The scene illustrates a poem by Komachi, inscribed in the cloud above:I that am lonely,Like a reed root-cutShould a stream entice me,Would go, I think.(Translation by Arthur Waley)This poem was written by Komachi when she received an invitation to leave her self-imposed seclusion. Ashamed by her aged appearance, Komachi refused