Art Institute of Chicago

A Peasant Crossing a Bridge, from the series A True Mirror of Chinese and Japanese Poems

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Date: late 1830s
Medium: Color woodblock print; nagaban
Culture: Japan
Department: Arts of Asia
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago

An old peasant returns from gathering the two bundles of horsetail rushes, which hang from a pole across his shoulder. Of the various poems about gathering rushes in the old anthologies, it is thought that Hokusai had in mind this poem from a 1303 collection: When I was cutting horsetails The autumn moon appeared Shining through the trees On Mount Sonahara. (Translated by Matthi Forrer) In this series of ten prints, the relevant poem was not included in the design. Instead, the artist challenged the Edo audience’s love of puzzles. Viewers enjoyed determining the source of a poem and its author.

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Object type: AAT300041273

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