Artwork

Hinazura of Chōjiya from the series Beauties as the Seven Komachi

Hinazura of Chōjiya from the series Beauties as the Seven Komachi is a print by the Romanticist artist Utagawa Toyokuni I. It dates from 1795 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This print is part of a series titled Beauties as the Seven Komachi, featuring a woman in a bright red kimono interacting with a caged bird.

About this work

You see a woman in a bright red kimono leaning toward a small caged bird.

This print is part of a series that turns famous poems into pictures. The bird stands for a play where a poet changes just one syllable in a royal poem—tiny shift, big meaning.

If you like this quiet moment, look up *Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)*.

Overview

This print is part of a series titled Beauties as the Seven Komachi, featuring a woman in a bright red kimono interacting with a caged bird.

Subject & Meaning

The scene depicts Hinazura of Chōjiya, referencing the play The Parrot, where poet Ono no Komachi subtly alters a poem sent by Emperor Yozei, illustrating the power of nuanced language.

Technique & Style

The print translates a famous poem into a visual representation, using the caged bird as a symbolic element to convey the play's themes.

Context

The series draws inspiration from seven plays based on legends surrounding Ono no Komachi, a 9th-century poet.