Visual Parody of the Poet Ōta Dōkan 1766 - 1767

Suzuki Harunobu’s woodblock print, Visual Parody of the Poet Ōta Dōkan, presents a scene dominated by vertical lines and muted colors, punctuated by the soft hues of a woman's kimono. The composition is neatly divided into planes – the falling rain, the gate, and the figure standing in the doorway. The vertical lines create a sense of enclosure, which is softened by the organic forms of the flowers and the woman’s gentle pose. Harunobu subtly plays with cultural and artistic codes. The parody references a famous anecdote of Ōta Dōkan who was once given a mountain rose instead of proper rain gear when seeking shelter. By replacing the warrior with a woman, Harunobu destabilizes traditional heroic narratives and introduces a commentary on gender roles. The print engages with the concept of representation itself, questioning fixed meanings. It asks us to consider how art transforms and reinterprets history, inviting us to question the boundaries between past and present, masculinity and femininity, and the literal and the symbolic.