Japanese Print "A Courtesan as Hi Chōbō" by Okumura Masanobu
Artist:Okumura Masanobu
Title:A Courtesan as Hi Chōbō
Date:about 1710
Details:More information...
Source:Worcester Art Museum
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Description:
Hi Chobo is the Japanese name of the Chinese sage Fei Zhangfang, a third century market official from Runan (mentioned in Hou hanshu, magician Hu Kung (Jap. Koko), hidden in a large jar and became his student. In some Chinese lore Fei Zhangfang is said to have been rewarded by his teacher with a magical bamboo rod and a charm consisting of a written poem (about the rod), tools that enabled him to fly for great distances in a short amount of time. Perhaps alluding to such a version of the legend, Masanobu shows the courtesan in this early sumizuri print holding a sheet of paper inscribed with what may be an excerpt from a classical Chinese-style poem In this fanciful transposition Fei Zhangfang is shown in the guise of a Japanese woman reading a love poem while flying through the air seated on a great white crane.
