Poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Around 1835, Hokusai embarked on the enormous project of illustrating one of the one hundred poems contained in the Hyakunin Isshu, an imperial poetry anthology compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) in 1235. Instead of attempting to represent the subtleties and complicated allusions of these classical poems, Hokusai illustrated them from the work-a-day viewpoint of a wet nurse. By having such a fictional person explain the poems visually, Hokusai was able to illustrate them in a rather straightforward manner, but also sometimes to intentionally misinterpret the poem for comic effect, all of which could be attributed to the nurse's lack of sophistication. Ultimately the project proved to be overly ambitious, and only twenty-seven prints were published. This composition is based on a famous poem by Kakinomoto Hitomaro (late 7th-early 8th century): Ahibiki no Ah! The foot-drawn trail yamadori no o no Of the mountain-pheasant's tail shidario-o no Dropped like down-curved branch! naganagshi yo wo Through this long, long-dragging night hitori ka mo nen Must I keep my couch alone? While the poem describes the poet's loneliness on a long autumn night, the picture shows fishermen dragging a fishnet upstream. Presumably the diligent labor of the fishermen symbolizes the weariness of the lonely poet, who may have to spend a long night alone.