An Inkstone and Brushes
- woodblock print on paper
-
8 x 7 in
(20.32 x 17.78 cm)
- Katsushika Hokusai
Hokusai intertwines the themes of horses and calligraphy to reference the Tale of the Heike and the New Year. The blue-black inkstone is carved into a horseshoe shape. The title of the print in Japanese, Bateiseki, means horse hoof stone, referring to the type of obsidian from which the inkstone is made. Bateiseki is linked to the Tale of the Heike through Sasaki Takatsuna, a warrior for the Minamoto clan. When his mare ran into a lake to find her drowning foal, the bateiseki obsidian formed where her hooves touched the bottom. The first and fifth poems above the inkstone discusses the New Year, which is the year of the horse. The next poem uses horse terminology to describe a man approaching a shy woman. The third poem details a journey on horseback to Edo where one will write poetry.
- Created: 1822, Year of the Horse
- Attribution: Frank Lloyd Wright Collection at Taliesin West
- Collections: Taliesin West Surimono Collection