Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Balloon Flowers (Kikyô)

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Edoya Matsugoro, publisher

Title

Balloon Flowers (Kikyô)

Period

Edo Period

Year

1840s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Edo (location)

Dimensions

Image: 33.3 x 8.4 cm (13 1/8 x 3 5/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Poem:
Samazama ni/yo wa fuketeyuku/maka no tsuki

The half moon/in myriad permutations/as the night wears on

Samazama also means a myriad of colors, as in flowers. The poem implies that there are as many varieties of moon as there are of human spirits. The season is probably mid-autumn, the 8th month of the lunar calendar.

Signature: Hiroshige ga

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.091A

Type

Image use

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Tombstone

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Edoya Matsugoro, publisher
Balloon Flowers (Kikyô), 1840s
Polychrome wood block print
Image: 33.3 x 8.4 cm (13 1/8 x 3 5/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.091A

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