The legend of Jo and Uba of Takasago is one of Japan's most beloved symbols of marital fidelity and long life. According to the tale, two ancient pine trees — one at Takasago in Harima Province and one at Sumiyoshi in Settsu — are the spiritual dwelling places of an old married couple, Jo and Uba. Though separated by distance, the two pines are said to share a single soul, their branches intertwining across the miles as a testament to the couple's undying bond.

In the most famous version of the story, a Shinto priest named Tomonari travels to Takasago and encounters an elderly couple raking pine needles beneath the great tree. The old man reveals that he is the spirit of the Takasago pine, and his wife the spirit of the Sumiyoshi pine. Despite living apart, their love remains constant and eternal. The couple then departs across the sea together toward Sumiyoshi, where they are reunited.

In Hokusai's surimono here, Uba is serving Jo tea. They sit in front of a standing screen (tsuitate) depicting two rakes propped against a large old pine tree - a clear allusion to their famous activity of raking pine needles.

Dr. Gerhard Pulverer is a German medical researcher who worked at the University of Cologne. He bought his first Japanese woodblock prints in Kyoto in the 1970s while visiting Japan for a scientific conference. For more than thirty years, he and his wife Rosemarie travelled the world assembling a large collection woodblock prints and Japanese illustrated books (ehon). In forming the collection, he drew on the advice of highly regarded experts including Jack Hillier, C.H. Mitchell, Tim Clark and Ellis Tinios.

In 2007 the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, DC purchased the illustrated book collection. It is today regarded as one of the most outstanding and comprehensive collections of Japanese illustrated books outside Japan.

For an insightful interview with the collector by Ellis Tinios (on behalf of the Smithsonian National Museum of Art), go to: https://pulverer.si.edu/node/186