Poem by Minamoto No Muneyuki , 19th century (colour woodblock print)

Poem by Minamoto No Muneyuki. 5 huntsmen warm themselves by a blazing fire in the open, snow on the ground and small open hut to right with food cooking. Signed: Saki no Hokusai Manji. Publisher: Iseya Sanjir? (Eijud?). Publiser's mark: Eijud? (blurred). Censor's seal: Kiwame. Poem: Yamazato wa / fuyu zo sabishisa / masarikeru /hitome mo kusa mo / karenu to omoeba; (In the mountain village / it is in winter that my loneliness / increases most / when I think how both have dried up, / the grasses and people’s visits. Transl. Joshua Mostow.) Disregarding the heavy mood of the poem, Hokusai shows a group of jolly hunters enjoying the warmth of a bonfire after a day in the woods. The soaring flames seem to echo their high spirits. As part of their outdoor winter gear, the hunters wear straw sandals (waraji) and straw leggings (habaki) to ward off the cold. At the right, protected by a brushwood fence, is the snow-encrusted mountain hut where they will spend the night. Among all the designs in the series, this one in particular seems to reflect the artist’s customary exuberance. One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (Hyakunin isshu uba ga etoki)