Caption:
????? ??????, Album of Sketches by Katsushika Hokusai and His Disciples, Edo period (1615–1868), 19th century, Japan, Album of ninety-seven leaves; ink and color on paper, Each leaf: 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (39.4 x 26.7 cm), Paintings, Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo)), The brush-inscribed text between the two roosters explains the odd dynamic of this work: A drawing of a real rooster coming to fight the wooden rooster made by Suminawa. (Suminawa ga tsukereru ki no niwatori makoto no niwatori kitaritekeru zu) This unsigned drawing is virtually identical to a woodblock-printed illustration published in the popular novel The Tale of the Craftsman of Hida (Hida no takumi monogatari, 1809), authored by Rokujuen Meshimori (1753–1830) and illustrated by Hokusai