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Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Cuckoo and azaleas (Hototogisu satsuki)

Maker

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849, b. in Edo, Japan)

Title

Cuckoo and azaleas (Hototogisu satsuki)
Untitled (known as Small flowers)

Period

Edo Period

Year

ca. 1834

Medium

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials

ink, color

Supports

  • paper

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Plate: 23.8 x 17.6 cm (9 3/8 x 6 15/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscriptions at left and right.
[text and poems]
title inscribed u. right Hototogisu satsuki
the Chinese poem to the left may be translated loosely:

Surprised midday by the crack of mountain bamboo,
the cuckoo makes its first cry.

Poem by Yoseisai (Japanese reading)

Signature: Zen Hokusai Iitsu hitsu

Seals: Combination seal ~ rounded-rectangular | manji ~ artist's emblem | kiwame ~ censor's seal; 6/28/96 seal printed on block, a later impression (R.Keyes)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.486.1

Type

  • Prints

Exhibition History

Feathers, Flowers, Talons and Fangs
Power and Serenity in Japanese Nature Prints
Feb 02, 2007 – Jun 10, 2007
Summer Brilliance
Jun 14, 1996 – Sep 15, 1996
Hokusai and His Followers
May 15, 1987 – Sep 27, 1987

Related Objects

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A print depicting a small bird hanging upside down from a blossoming branch, framed by cascading white blossoms set against a deep blue background.

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry (鶯 垂櫻 Uso shidarezakura), Edo Period

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Korean Nightingale and Roses (黄鳥 長春 Kochō Bara), Edo Period

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Cuckoo and Azaleas (子規 杜鵑花 Hototogisu satsuki), Edo Period
A print depicting a small brown bird perched among jagged green leaves, and blooming red-orange flowers set against a blue gradient sky.

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

Shrike and Thistles (鵙 小薊 Isuka oniazami), Edo Period

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎

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More objects +

Image use

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

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

Tombstone

Katsushika Hokusai 葛飾北斎 (1760-1849, b. in Edo, Japan)
Cuckoo and azaleas (Hototogisu satsuki); Untitled (known as Small flowers), ca. 1834
Polychrome wood block print
Plate: 23.8 x 17.6 cm (9 3/8 x 6 15/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.486.1

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

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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