Woman Painting a Dragon by Totoya Hokkei (1780-1850) Japan, Edo period, about 1832 woodblock print, pigment on paper, 8 1/4 x 71/4 inches (21 x 18.5 cm) Friends of the Asian Art Association 1986.185

Totoya Hokkei, a student of the well-known ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai, was a fish seller who changed his profession to become a successful designer of privately published woodblock prints (surimono). This print depicts a woman painting a dragon that comes to life, rising from her fan in a trail of clouds, and was probably inspired by legends of early Chinese painters who mastered this astonishing feat. It is likely that this work was commissioned by a poetry club or a literary society in 1832, the year of the water dragon.


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