![](immagini/kunisada2.jpg)
Author: Utagawa Kunisada (歌川国貞).
Subject: A beauty and a poem of Kawara no Sadaiji (河原左大臣) aka Minamoto Tōru (源融).
Series: Selection of images of one hundred poets (Hyakunin isshū eshō, 百人一首繪抄).
Number: 14/100.
Genre: bijin-ga (美人画), mitate-e (見立絵), kasen-e (歌仙絵).
Size: large (ōban, 大判).
Publisher: Sanoya (佐野屋).
Period: c. 1844~1845.
Trimmed: no
Backed: no
Code: UKSI01002
Condition: the general condition is good. The color has not faded and remains quite clear and
vivid. The presence of stains, particularly in the borders and corner areas, and a few wrinkles
due to aging can be noticed. However, these do not compromise the integrity of the print.
A beauty in a garment rich in color and design. To her left, two cards reveal the fourteenth poem from
the anthology of one hundred poets and a miniature of its author. In the top right corner, an unfolded
scroll displays commentary on it.
Here is an approximate translation of the poem in question.
"しのぶもぢずり 誰ゆゑに 乱れそめにし 我ならなくに。"
"Michinoku no Shinobu mojizuri Tare yue ni Midare some ni Ware naranaku ni."
"Like the hidden ferns in the depths of Michinoku, Why have my thoughts become so entangled?
It was certainly not of my own volition."
Censor and publisher seals are on the left, one above the other, while on the right side the artist signs
as Kunisada aratame nidai Ichiyōsai Toyokuni ga (国貞改二代一齊豊国画), a signature he often used after 1844.