Snow, Moon and Cherry Blossoms － Moon

Teisai Hokuba (1770-1844) was one of pupils of Hokusai. He joined the Hokusai school in around 1798 and flourished as an illustrator of picture books at first. In and after the Bunsei era (1818- ), he devoted himself to original paintings. The right hanging scroll draws women enjoying the moonlight on the boat. One woman looks up the sky and the other dips a cup in the water. She seems to scoop up the moon reflected on the surface of the water. On the boat behind them, two men and a boatman are drawn. The central hanging scroll represents beauties beneath the cherry blossoms in full bloom. A woman bending down has dandelions and horsetails in her hands. In the background, the ocean spreads out and many ships can be seen. The left hanging scroll depicts beautiful women looking at the snow scenery outside of the room. A Japanese plum tree is drawn on the fusuma. Upon closer look, it can be seen that it is also depicted on the kimono of the standing woman. This painting seems to be produced in the Tempo era (1830-1844) when Teisai’s unique style of painting was established.