Flowers of a Hundred Worlds (Momoyogusa): Six Poetic Immortals (Rokkasen) - Kamisaka Sekka

A woodblock print by Kamisaka Sekka depicting the Six Poetic Immortals, rendered in the clean, graphic style of the twentieth-century Rinpa revival.

This woodblock print originates from the collection titled Momoyogusa, or Flowers of a Hundred Worlds, published between 1909 and 1910. Kamisaka Sekka, a figure associated with the revival of the Rinpa school in the early twentieth century, produced these works to modernise traditional Japanese aesthetics. The print depicts the Rokkasen, or the Six Poetic Immortals, a group of waka poets from the Heian period who are frequently represented in classical Japanese art.

Sekka employs a simplified, graphic approach that departs from the hyper-realistic tendencies of his contemporaries. The figures are arranged within a fan-shaped composition, a format that dictates the spatial relationships between the subjects. The lines are clean and deliberate, defining the facial features and traditional court attire with minimal detail. The colour palette is restrained, relying on flat areas of pigment to create visual interest without the need for complex shading or perspective. This approach reflects the Rinpa tradition of decorative design, where the emphasis remains on the balance of form and the arrangement of shapes across the surface.

By reinterpreting these historical figures through a modern lens, Sekka bridges the gap between the classical past and the aesthetic shifts of the Meiji and Taisho eras. The print demonstrates his ability to distil complex cultural narratives into accessible, graphic compositions. The lack of background detail forces the viewer to focus entirely on the expressions and interactions of the poets, who are rendered with a sense of gentle characterisation. This work is an example of the intersection between traditional woodblock printing techniques and the emerging sensibilities of twentieth-century graphic design, maintaining a clear connection to the decorative principles that defined the Rinpa school for centuries.