This tranquil scene of an autumn evening evokes a different mood from Party in a Boat, also by Hokuba, and shown nearby. A woman pauses in her task of fulling cloth (pleating or gathering cloth to make it full) to gaze at the moon just as a flock of geese pass over. The simple elements of fulling blocks, geese, and a full moon are traditional symbols of autumn in Japanese art. The woman's white face appears to reflect the moon's surface. Perhaps overcome by the moment, she bites the end of her kerchief.
For the Japanese people, the autumn harvest moon has many romantic associations and is a popular subject of poetry. In mid-autumn a Moon-Viewing Festival is held on the fifteenth night of the eighth lunar moon, which is regarded as the Harvest Moon. This festival became popular during the Edo era, when the citizens of Edo enjoyed a festival in honor of the moon held on the banks of the Sumida River.
cxd
<P>This tranquil scene of an autumn evening evokes a different mood from Party in a Boat, also by Hokuba, and shown nearby. A woman pauses in her task of fulling cloth (pleating or gathering cloth to make it full) to gaze at the moon just as a flock of geese pass over. The simple elements of fulling blocks, geese, and a full moon are traditional symbols of autumn in Japanese art. The woman's white face appears to reflect the moon's surface. Perhaps overcome by the moment, she bites the end of her kerchief.</p><p>For the Japanese people, the autumn harvest moon has many romantic associations and is a popular subject of poetry. In mid-autumn a Moon-Viewing Festival is held on the fifteenth night of the eighth lunar moon, which is regarded as the Harvest Moon. This festival became popular during the Edo era, when the citizens of Edo enjoyed a festival in honor of the moon held on the banks of the Sumida River.</p>
Context
false
