Woman Looking at the Moon, 1800s. Japan, Edo period (1615-1868). Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk; overall: 189.2 x 53.3 cm (74 1/2 x 21 in.); painting only: 96.5 x 33.7 cm (38 x 13 1/4 in.). In this scene, 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. Perhaps overcome by the moment, she bites the end of her kerchief. The simple elements of fulling blocks, geese, and a full moon are traditional symbols of autumn in Japanese art. The pounding of the silk also has erotic connotations in East Asian painting. Although it is not signed, the style resembles work by painter Teisai Hokuba, known for his ukiyo-e or pictures of the floating world.” Hokuba was an eminent disciple of the famed artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). 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