Keisai Eisen 渓斎英泉

In each of these prints, the ninth-century poet Ono no Komachi is transformed into a young woman from the 1800s. Komachi was one of the Six Poetry Immortals (六歌仙Rokkasen) of Japanese waka poetry. Little is known of her life, but tales of her legendary beauty and wit are abundant. Today, the name Komachi has come to be synonymous with feminine beauty. In the late 1300s to early 1400s, Komachi was memorialized in several popular Nō plays known as the Seven Komachi (七小町 nana komachi). During the Edo period (1615–1868), images from the Seven Komachi were frequently parodied in prints. 

Ono no Komachi, a 9th-century court poet, was one of the Six Poetic Sages (Rokkasen). The painting of the woman at the top of the print is labeled “Sekidera Komachi,” that is, “Komachi entering the Sekidera Temple.” In Eisen’s series the seven characteristic depictions of the famed writer are instead used to portray geisha or ordinary women.