Title : Semimaru

Artist : Suzuki Harunobu

Date : c. 1767 - 1768

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : In a visual parody of a classic poem by Semimaru from Hundred Poems, Hundred Each (Hyakuni Isshu), this scene displays a traveler being pestered and pulled by the waitress of the Osaka-ya chophouse at the Osaka Barrier. The poem reads: This it is! That going, too, and coming, too, continually separating, those known and those unknown, meet at the Barrier of Ösaka. The original courtly poem may have been referring to the sadness of parting as well as to the impermanence of human life. However, in Harunobu's print, the man is humorously portrayed half-heartedly fending off an overzealous waitress who attempts to lure him to her establishment. (from Original Intent 11/21/06-)

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