Image
Description
Maker
- Utagawa Hiroshige, 1797-1858, Japanese
- Kawaguchiya Shōzō, Japanese, publisher
Title
Year
Medium
Materials/Techniques
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Techniques
Supports
Dimensions
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Image: 34.1 x 12.7 cm (13 7/16 x 5 inches)
Signature / Inscription / Marks
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Inscription verso, bottom right in pencil: EGR321[text and poems] Futa goe a(translates to)Two voices crossing Gomosaki koezu(translates to)high over Gomosaki- hototogisu(translates to)a cuckoo and rain (trans. Marks in Bogel)Marks mentions that the cuckoo is known for its voice and its ability to avoid bad weather (except in this design). He speculates that the open beak of the bird may indicate he is squawking about this fact. Hototogisu is a season word (kigo) for summer and its song a symbol of unrequited love. A different interpretation concerns the range of the cuckoo's cry: reaching farther than two provinces. Forrer makes this allusion and corrects the transliteration in Bogel, although Futakoe is preferable in the first line: Futakoe wa isozaki koetsu hototogisu The cuckoo's cry reaches more than two provinces beyond Isozaki Forrer translates the poem:Futagoe wa(translates to)A twofold cry can be heard over five hundred capes- isosaki koetsu/hototogisu(translates to )the cuckoo
Identification
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Edition
Edition: The Bogel entry remarks that the print shows edges of the second print originally printed on the same ?ban sheet; Forrer states that the other print is Owl and Pine in Moonlight (34.220) in the collection. Place
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Japan; Tokyo
Type
Credit
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Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke
Object Number
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20.1244
