Poem by Bun'ya no Asayasu: Tamomo no Mae

Poem by Bun'ya no Asayasu: Tamomo no Mae is a 1845 design by Utagawa Kuniyoshi from the Ogura nazora-e Hyaku-nin isshu, preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Like other sheets in this celebrated series, the print pairs a classical waka from the Hyakunin Isshu anthology with a figural subject drawn from legend, in this case Tamamo no Mae, the beautiful court lady who was secretly the avatar of a malevolent nine-tailed fox spirit. The legend, long popular in nō and kabuki, allowed Kuniyoshi to combine his strengths as a designer of dramatic narrative scenes within the Edo ukiyo-e tradition — supernatural transformation, courtly elegance, and visual menace — into a single carefully composed image. Tamamo's flowing robes, ornate hair ornaments, and subtle hints of her vulpine nature reflect Kuniyoshi's lifelong interest in shape-shifters, ghosts, and supernatural beings that runs alongside his more familiar warrior prints. The collaboration with Hiroshige and Kunisada on this series is one of the high points of mid-nineteenth-century print publishing, and the Victoria and Albert Museum's holdings of the project offer a particularly clear view of how each designer responded to the same classical poetry. The carving and printing on this sheet exemplify Edo workshop standards, with crisp outline blocks supporting layered colour impressions. As an example of Kuniyoshi's narrative invention working through a literary frame, the print is an instructive entry point into late Edo ukiyo-e's blending of poetic tradition and popular imagination.