Empress Jitö

Catalog note / 解説

Hokusai depicts two men washing textiles in the river and two women walking with white textiles hanging on a pole to dry. Four travelers pass by at the right. More penetrating observation can illuminate Hokusai’s wit to interpret this original ancient poem. The tall racks in the distance at the right look too high to be drying racks for normal clothing or household linen. It is assumed that they are racks used for drying processed flax. According to the old manner, the raw stalks are first soaked in running water, such as a steam, to rot away the woody part of stalk. This process always produces a bad smell. Hokusai seems to show us a part of the process in the manufacture of linen cloth in…