
The Poetess Ono no Komachi
Suzuki Harunobu · Edo period (1615–1868), 1767/68
- Medium
- Color woodblock print; chuban
- Original size
- 28.6 × 20.7 cm (11 1/4 × 8 1/8 in.)
- Currently held
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Rococo
"The Poetess Ono no Komachi" carries the quiet reverence that Suzuki Harunobu reserved for subjects of both beauty and learning — a ninth-century waka poet whose legend had endured for nearly a thousand years by the time this print was made. Harunobu worked in Edo during a period of remarkable innovation in Japanese printmaking. In 1765, just two years before this work, he helped pioneer nishiki-e — full-color woodblock printing — transforming ukiyo-e from a largely monochrome tradition into something far more lyrical. His figures are characteristically slender and contemplative, set against backgrounds of cool, muted tones that feel less like a setting and more like a state of mind. Ono no Komachi herself was one of the Rokkasen, the Six Poetry Immortals of the early Heian period, celebrated equally for her verse and her legendary beauty — a pairing that made her one of the most enduring figures in Japanese visual culture across centuries of artistic reinterpretation. This hand-painted oil reproduction translates Harunobu's delicate color relationships and fluid line work into a new medium, preserving the stillness and refinement that define the original while giving the image a physical warmth that woodblock print cannot carry.
Hand-painted oil reproduction
Painted in real oil on stretched canvas by master copyists. Delivered unframed — ready to frame at home.
Choose a size
In Harunobu's style.
Send us a photograph of your family, pet, or home — we'll paint it as a custom oil on stretched canvas in any style you like. From £220.

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