File:Japanese Abalone Divers - Poem by Sangi Takamura (5758870207) (cropped).jpg

Display Artist: Katsushika Hokusai Display Title: Poem by Sangi Takamura Translation(s): Ono no Takamura Series Title: One-hundred Poems as Explained by the Nurse Suite Name: Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki Creation Date: 1835 Medium: Woodblock Height: 10 3/8 in. Width: 13 1/2 in. Display Dimensions: 10 3/8 in. x 13 1/2 in. (26.35 cm x 34.29 cm) Publisher: Iseya Sanjiro Credit Line: Bequest of Mrs. Cora Timken Burnett Label Copy: "One of the most popular prints from the series is this scene of women, naked to the waist, diving for awabi (abalone). This hazardous occupation was delegated to women because they were thought to be able to hold their breaths longer under water.The poem on which this image is based is by the scholar Sangi Takamura (802852), who served as the emperors advisor. This poem was written as a defiant farewell on the eve of his exile to a barely habitable island following his criticism of the emperors handling of a diplomatic mission to China. It reads:Over the wide, wide seaTowards its many distant isles,Rowing I set forth.This, to all the world proclaim,O boats of fisher-folk! In Hokusais composition, the poet is in a boat in the middle distance making his way among the rocky islands." Label Copy (Spanish): "Una de las impresiones ms populares de la serie es esta escena de mujeres, desnudas hasta la cintura, que se sumergen para buscar awabi (abuln). Esta ocupacin peligrosa se delegaba a las mujeres porque se pensaba que podan aguantar la respiracin bajo el agua. El poema en el que se basa esta imagen es por el erudito Sangi Takamura (802852), quien fue el consejero del emperador. Este poema fue escrito como una despedida desafiante en la vspera de su exilio a una isla apenas habitable por haber criticado cmo el emperador manej una misin diplomtica a China. Lee as:Por el mar vasto, vasto Hacia sus muchas islas lejanasMe dirijo, remando.Esto, al mundo lo proclamo,O barcos de pescadores!En la composicin de Hokusai, el poeta est en un barco a media distancia, navegando entre las islas rocosas. "