Ono no Komachi: Praying for Rain
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Honolulu Museum of Art
Description
Ono no Komachi praying for rain—the celebrated Heian-period poet using her supernatural connection to natural forces to end a drought—was a subject that combined the historical reverence for Japan's greatest female poet with the folklore tradition that credited her with shamanistic powers. The rain prayer scene placed the elegant court poetess in an outdoor ritual context, her formal court dress in tension with the elemental forces she invoked, the arriving clouds and darkening sky responding to her supplication.
More Prints by Ogata Gekko
MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO
Woodblock print
Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆
Woodblock print
Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney
c. 1886–1899
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
More Rain Prints
Rain Shower at Shо̄no, from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tо̄kaidо̄ (Tо̄kaidо̄ gojusan tsugi)
1962
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Shōno: Driving Rain (Shōno hakuu), from the series Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi no uchi), also known as the First Tōkaidō or Great Tōkaidō
c. 1833-36
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Omiya in Rain (Ame no Omiya)
Ame no Omiya
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Teradomari no yau
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
Frequently Asked Questions
Ono no Komachi: Praying for Rain was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Ono no Komachi: Praying for Rain depicts rain.