Image

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Crane and autumn grasses (Hagi to susuki ni tsuru)

Description

Maker

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

Title

Crane and autumn grasses (Hagi to susuki ni tsuru)

Period

Edo Period

Year

1830s-1840s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Image: 34.1 x 11.4 cm (13 7/16 x 4 1/2 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription verso, bottom right: [Japanese Characters]

[text and poems]
Chinese poem:

When one dreams on the pillow of a thousand-year-old crane, it's New Year!

The Kobayashi caption for this poem (K318) reads "voice" for the Chinese character which on may interpret as "dream." The felicitous imagery is associated with the New Year. The poem seems to say that the poem can see the crane and landscape in his wine cup as if in a dream. Waking up on New Year's day to the sound of a thousand-year-old crane the scene is reflected in the wine cup.

Signature: Signed above | Hiroshige hitsu

Seals: Artist's seal | Ichiryusai

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.252

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Of Clover and Chrysanthemum
Autumn Themes in Japanese Woodblock Prints
Sep 01, 2010 – Dec 12, 2010

Label copy

Of the “seven autumn grasses,” two are depicted in this print. The tall grass with reddish-purple flowers is Japanese bush clover (hagi); the flower plant below it is pampas grass (susuki).

A Chinese poem inscribed on the upper left reads:

“When one dreams on the pillow of a thousand-year-old crane, it's New Year!”

Of Clover and Chrysanthemums
Autumn Themes on Paper and Cloth
Sep 15, 1995 – Dec 10, 1995

Use & Feedback

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

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)
Crane and autumn grasses (Hagi to susuki ni tsuru), 1830s-1840s
Polychrome woodblock print
Image: 34.1 x 11.4 cm (13 7/16 x 4 1/2 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.252

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.