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Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Autumn: Judo's Chrysanthemums in a deep ravine in China (Aki)

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Surugaya Sakujiro (Japanese), publisher

Title

Autumn: Judo's Chrysanthemums in a deep ravine in China (Aki)
Flowers of the four seasons with historical associations
Kodai meiyo shiki no hana; Kando yukoku Judo no kiku

Period

Edo Period

Year

mid 1840s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Image: 23.7 x 30.8 cm (9 5/16 x 12 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription verso, bottom left in pencil: [Japanese Characters]

Signature: Signed at lower right | Hiroshige ga

Seals: Censor's seal | Murata Hiraemon

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.332

Type

Exhibition History

Feathers, Flowers, Talons and Fangs
Power and Serenity in Japanese Nature Prints
Feb 02, 2007 – Jun 10, 2007
Fan-Shaped Bird and Flower Prints from the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Collection
May 11, 1990 – Jun 30, 1990

Label copy

The print is subtitled Kando Yukoku Judo No Kiku (Judo's Chrysanthemums in a Deep Ravine in China) and alludes to a Chinese legend about a young attendant and favorite of Emperor Mu Wang (1007- 947 B.C.). When the young attendant was forced into exile by rivals at court, the emperor taught him a Buddhist verse. In a valley filled with chrysanthemums, the young man wrote the characters of the verse on chrysanthemum petals lest he forget them, and the dew from these petals became an elixir of everlasting youth.

Hiroshige III
Apr 13, 1989 – Jun 23, 1989
Hiroshige
Birds and Flowers
Sep 09, 1988 – Jan 22, 1989

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Surugaya Sakujiro (Japanese), publisher
Autumn: Judo's Chrysanthemums in a deep ravine in China (Aki); Flowers of the four seasons with historical associations; Kodai meiyo shiki no hana; Kando yukoku Judo no kiku, mid 1840s
Polychrome woodblock print
Image: 23.7 x 30.8 cm (9 5/16 x 12 1/8 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.332

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