Collected Haiku Poems (Hokku shū) 発句集
Not on view
A small book of a total of twenty-eight printed pages, this compact volume still manages to unite the hokku (starting verses of linked haikai poetry, today known as haiku) of more than a hundred-twenty different poets. The poems are complemented with woodblock-printed images of five artists, of whom Goshun, Genki and Watanabe Nangaku all belong to the Maruyama-Shijō school. While these three were well-established painters of their time, Mikuma Katen is known as the illustrator of Lives of Extraordinary People of Recent Times (Kinsei kijinden, 1790), the popular account of the lives of eccentric persons by the author Ban Kōkei (Mikuma would later write the book’s sequel, Zoku kinsei kijinden).
The pictures are as follows: 1) Mikuma Katen: Veiled Lady and Courtiers; 2) Genki: Sparrow on a Vine of Morning Glories; 3) Watanabe Nangaku: Two Women; 4) Goshun: Chestnut and Mushrooms; 5) Fusetsu Yūjō: Lotus.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.