Parrot Komachi, from the series The Fashionable Seven Komachi (Furyu nana Komachi)

Chōbunsai EishiWW-1783-120755

1783·Color woodblock print; oban·36.5 × 25.1 cm (14 3/8 × 9 7/8 in.)

<p>The stooped figure of an elderly Ono no Komachi stands in the distance behind two fashionable young women and a child. In this scene, one of the women holds a piece of paper with a poem written on it, a reference to a specific episode in Komachi’s life. After receiving a poem from the emperor, she replied by returning the same poem with only one character changed. Komachi’s response was comparable to that of a parrot, hence the name of the story, “Parrot Komachi."</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1783
Medium: Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions: 36.5 × 25.1 cm (14 3/8 × 9 7/8 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Chōbunsai Eishi

Artist

Chōbunsai Eishi

Printmaking

Chōbunsai Eishi was an 18th-century Japanese woodblock print artist and painter known for ukiyo-e works depicting bijin (beautiful women) and kabuki actors. Active during the late Edo period, he developed a refined, elegant style characterized by elongated figures and delicate linear detail. His prints and paintings represent a transition between earlier Edo aesthetics and the more decorative approaches of his contemporaries. This profile will be expanded as more verified source material becomes available.

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