Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Chinese Peonies (Shakuyaku), Edo (Japanese period)

Maker

Title

Chinese Peonies (Shakuyaku)

Year

Edo (Japanese period)

Medium

ink, color

Materials/Techniques

Dimensions

33.8 x 11.1 cm (13 5/16 x 4 3/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Poem: Mizu utte/shibaraku tsuki o/matare keriIt struck the water;/then for a time the moon/kept me waiting (trans. Marks in Bogel)Please note this revised transliteration and interpretation of the poem: Mizu uchite/shibaraku tsuki o/matare keriAfter sprinkling the garden I paused, awaiting the moonJust before guests arrive for a dinner or tea ceremony at one's house, one wets the garden so it looks fresh and glistening for them (mizuuchi). The only other ingredient to make the scene look perfect is the moon. There may not have been human guests; perhaps the poet sprinkled the garden for his guest, the moon.Poem signed Kakuyûken Kirei

Signature: Signed at lower right | Hiroshige hitsu

Seals: Censor's seal | Mera Taichirô

Identification

Edition

For a different impression of the design see 34.189.

Place

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

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.188

Chinese Peonies (Shakuyaku)

For a different impression of the design see 34.189.

Poem: Mizu utte/shibaraku tsuki o/matare keriIt struck the water;/then for a time the moon/kept me waiting (trans. Marks in Bogel)Please note this revised transliteration and interpretation of the poem: Mizu uchite/shibaraku tsuki o/matare keriAfter sprinkling the garden I paused, awaiting the moonJust before guests arrive for a dinner or tea ceremony at one's house, one wets the garden so it looks fresh and glistening for them (mizuuchi). The only other ingredient to make the scene look perfect is the moon. There may not have been human guests; perhaps the poet sprinkled the garden for his guest, the moon.Poem signed Kakuyûken Kirei

Signature: Signed at lower right | Hiroshige hitsu

Seals: Censor's seal | Mera Taichirô

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Edo (location)
The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in Copyright. This object is Chinese Peonies (Shakuyaku) with the accession number of 34.188. To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.