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Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Autumn: Judo's Chrysanthemums in a Deep Ravine in China (秋 漢土幽谷寿童の菊 Aki: Kando Yūkoku Judō no Kiku)

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797–1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Surugaya Sakujirō 駿河屋作次郎 (1844 - 1854, Edo, Japan), publisher

Title

Autumn: Judo's Chrysanthemums in a Deep Ravine in China (秋 漢土幽谷寿童の菊 Aki: Kando Yūkoku Judō no Kiku)
from the series Flowers of the Four Seasons Famous in History (古代名誉四季の花 Kodai Meiyo Shiki no Hana)

Period

Edo Period

Year

mid 1840s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Uchiwa-e on horizontal aiban: 23.7 x 30.8 cm (9 5/16 x 12 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: 廣重画 Hiroshige ga (Pictured by Hiroshige)

Seals: Publisher's seal: 浅草サ Asakusa Sa (駿河屋作次郎 Surugaya Sakujirō); Censor's seal: 村 Mura (村田 平右衛門 Murata Heieimon)

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

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 Sakujirō 駿河屋作次郎 (1844 - 1854, Edo, Japan), publisher
Autumn: Judo's Chrysanthemums in a Deep Ravine in China (秋 漢土幽谷寿童の菊 Aki: Kando Yūkoku Judō no Kiku); from the series Flowers of the Four Seasons Famous in History (古代名誉四季の花 Kodai Meiyo Shiki no Hana), mid 1840s
Polychrome woodblock print (nishiki-e)
Uchiwa-e on horizontal aiban: 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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