Six immortal poets preparing for the Tanabata festival

Date:: n.d.
Medium:: Color woodblock print; oban
Format:: Oban
Source:: Art Institute of Chicago

Typical Price

Later reprint or reproduction (20th-century): $50–$300
Good later impression (Edo-period): $1,000–$5,000
Good early impression (vivid color, legible detail): $5,000–$20,000
Fine early impression (exceptional color and condition): $20,000–$60,000

Hokusai's genre scenes, bijin-ga (beautiful women), and miscellaneous subjects represent the breadth of his career across more than seven decades. The market for non-landscape Hokusai prints has strengthened as collectors seek beyond the most famous designs.

Description

The six immortal poets of the Rokkasen — celebrated figures from Heian-era verse — are depicted in a lively scene of preparation for the Tanabata star festival, held on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. The [oban](/glossary/oban)-format print offers an irreverent, genre-inflected view of these canonical literary giants, a characteristic mode of Hokusai's playful relationship with classical culture.