Edo Period. Ukiyo-e seascape and landscape. Katsushika Hokusai. Katsushika Hokusai.

A work by Katsushika Hokusai. A single leaf from Ehon Yanagidaru (Illustrated Willow Barrel), mounted in a glazed wooden frame of shikishi format. Published in the sixth month of Koka 2 (1845).

Senryu, consisting of seventeen syllables arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern, remains a familiar literary form today. Haifu Yanagidaru (Willow Barrel of Haikai Verse) is an anthology of selected senryu composed during the Edo period. Ehon Yanagidaru pairs verses drawn from this anthology with newly created illustrations elucidating their meaning. Its chubon format is approximately equivalent to modern B6 size. Following the publication of the first volume in Tenpo 11 (1840), a second, third, and subsequent volumes appeared.

The copy of Ehon Yanagidaru in the collection of the National Institute of Japanese Literature bears the designation "First Volume" on its cover and inside cover leaf, yet its preface was taken from the fifth volume and its main text from the second. In fact, this copy was assembled after the publication of the fifth volume, combining that volume's preface with the text of the second. It was then furnished with a cover and inside cover leaf on which the original designation "Second Volume" had been altered to "First Volume," giving it the appearance of a first volume. Although the book includes a publication colophon, this too is not that of the original first volume, but was appropriated from an entirely unrelated publication.

Katsushika Hokusai (23rd day of the ninth month, Horeki 10, corresponding to October 31,1760 - 18th day of the fourth month, Kaei 2, corresponding to May 10,1849) was an ukiyo-e artist of the late Edo period. At nineteen, he entered the studio of Katsukawa Shunsho, the leading master of the Katsukawa school, thus beginning his artistic career. His creative activity spanned seventy years, from An'ei 8 (1779) to Kaei 2 (1849). His subjects encompassed virtually every aspect of the world: figures in diverse poses; courtesans, sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, and historical personages; landscapes featuring Mount Fuji, waterfalls, and bridges; insects, birds, flowers, plants, architecture, and Buddhist ritual implements; real and imaginary creatures, including supernatural beings, elephants, tigers, and dragons; and natural phenomena such as waves, wind, and rain. He produced more than 34,000 works during his lifetime [2,3]. His practice was equally wide-ranging, extending beyond prints and surimono (privately commissioned prints) to original ukiyo-e paintings, kibyoshi (yellow-covered illustrated fiction), yomihon (reading books), kyoka anthologies (collections of comic verse), drawing manuals, and shunga (erotic imagery).