[In] HYAKU-NIN ISSHU, 百人一首内 THE HUNDRED POETS, Part I, Plate Number: 3. Poet: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本人麿) Scene: The aged poet holding his brush and watching a pheasant with writing materials before him. Publisher: Ebisu-ya Shokichi circa 1840-1842.

1 print : woodcut, color. Size of graphic plot: 35,6 x 24 cm (a size known as ôban).

Hyaku-nin isshu is an anthology of 100 poems by 100 different poets compiled by the thirteenth-century critic and poet Fujiwara no Sadaie (also known as Teika).

The 100 poets are in approximately chronological order from the seventh through the thirteenth centuries. The number associated with each poet appears in the margin of most of the prints. The poem and some descriptive text appear on the print.

The poems were translated by Clay MacCauley in his book “Single Songs of a Hundred Poets” (1917, Kelly and Walsh, Yokohama).

In the scene of this print an aged poet is holding his brush and watching a pheasant with writing materials before him. The poem translates: « Oh, the foot-drawn trail | Of the mountain-pheasant’s tail | Drooped like down-curved branch! | Through this long, long-dragging night | Must I lie in bed alone? ».

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川国芳(1797-1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. The range of Kuniyoshi"s subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of legendary samurai heroes. His artwork incorporated aspects of Western representation in landscape painting and caricature.

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro 柿本人麻呂 or 柿本人麿 was a Japanese waka poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He is ranked as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. From the Heian period period on, he was often called "Hito-maru" (人丸).