Image

Previous 1 / 1 Next

After Utagawa Hiroshige

Cuckoo in Rain (Uchu no hototogisu), 1890's

Description

Maker

Title

Cuckoo in Rain (Uchu no hototogisu)

Year

1890's

Medium

Polychrome woodblock print

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Techniques

Supports

Dimensions

Image: 34.1 x 12.7 cm (13 7/16 x 5 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

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

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

Japan; Tokyo

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.1244

Related

More objects +

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 (CC0 1.0). This object is Cuckoo in Rain (Uchu no hototogisu) with the accession number of 20.1244. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.