Ono-no Komachi was a 9th century poetess famous for her beauty. Her life inspired seven significant noh plays, each reflecting a period in her life. The last, “Sotoba Komachi” or “Grave-post Komachi,” shows her as an old beggar woman sitting on the fallen post and regretting the passing of her beauty. Yoshitoshi conveys this famous scene with a melancholy mood. Dressed in the noh robes worn by her character, Komachi’s tattered hat reveals her struggle, but her face retains a very slight flicker of beauty and a wealth of wisdom.
