Collection of Kyōka Verse with Portraits of Poets in Famous Numerical Groupings (Kyōka meisū gazō shū 狂歌名数画像集) : [volume 2]

Yajima, Gogaku, active 19th century · 1830 · 9 pictures

A Japanese woodblock-printed volume of 1830 by Yajima Gogaku, a 19th-century artist, presenting kyōka comic poets in groups arranged by numerical categories. Each double-page spread shows several robed figures in patterned kimono beside columns of verse, with the poets' names and seal-like labels set in the margins. For a designer, the spreads offer dense repeat patterns in kimono textiles, limited flat colour fields on cream and ochre grounds, and a clear model for arranging figures and calligraphy on a page.

Kyōka · Poets, Japanese

Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art · No known copyright restrictions · More from this library