Washing the Manuscript - Attractive portrait from a series pairing beauties with seven episodes from the life of the famous poetess Ono no Komachi. Here, a beauty She cradles a mirror to her chest with one sleeve as she dabs at her face with a white cloth, a towel draped over her arm. A toothbrush rests atop a bowl of water on a lacquer makeup stand at lower left, a roll of tissues on the floor nearby. The image refers to a scene of Ono no Komachi washing a book in a basin of water. On the night before a poetry contest, one of Komachi's rivals heard her reciting her poem, and hoping to discredit her, copied the verse into a book to accuse her of plagiarism. Komachi discovered the trick, and washed away the fresh ink. A lovely design, nicely colored, with a sprig of cherry blossoms framing the title cartouche at upper right.

Artist - Eizan (1787 - 1867)

Image Size - 15" x 9 7/8" + left margin as shown

Condition - This print with excellent color and detail as shown. Faint toning at edges, a few small spots. Please see photos for details. Nice overall.