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Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

The everlasting chrysanthemum (Toshigiku)

Description

Maker

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

Title

The everlasting chrysanthemum (Toshigiku)
Parody of happiness, luck and longevity with collected flowers
Hanazukushi mitate fukurokuju

Period

Edo Period

Year

1843-1847

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

color, ink

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Image: 23.7 x 30.2 cm (9 5/16 x 11 7/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription verso, bottom right in pencil: Russel #40[text and poems] Inscription remarking on the alternate name of the chrysanthemum okinagusa (old man plant) associated with the legend of Kikujido, The Chrysanthemum Boy. A Chinese boy exiled from the imperial court, he sipped the dew of a valley filled with chrysanthemums for seven hundred years. The inscription also mentions a Chinese poet transliterated as Toenmei.To (macron over the "o") Enmei is the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming, Tao Qian (365-427), who is associated with the chrysanthemum. In his poem on "Drinking Wine" (Yin jiu), there is a famous line about plucking chrysanthemums from the eastern hedge.1-25-2007DDG

Signature: Signed at left | Hiroshige ga

Seals: Censor's seal | Tanaka Heishiro

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.305

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

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

Label copy

The text inscription on the upper right of the fan remarks on the alternate name of the chrysanthemum, okinagusa (old man plant). This name is associated with the legend of Kikujido (the Chrysanthemum Boy), a Chinese boy exiled from the imperial court, sipped the dew of a valley filled with chrysanthemums and lived for seven hundred years. The inscription also mentions the famed Chinese poet Tao Qian (365-427) whose name closely associated with chrysanthemums. In Tao’s poem on “Drinking Wine,” there is a famous line about plucking chrysanthemums from the eastern hedge.

Feathers, Flowers, Talons and Fangs
Power and Serenity in Japanese Nature Prints
Feb 02, 2007 – Jun 10, 2007
Of Clover and Chrysanthemums
Autumn Themes on Paper and Cloth
Sep 15, 1995 – Dec 10, 1995

Use & Feedback

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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)
The everlasting chrysanthemum (Toshigiku); Parody of happiness, luck and longevity with collected flowers; Hanazukushi mitate fukurokuju, 1843-1847
Polychrome woodblock print
Image: 23.7 x 30.2 cm (9 5/16 x 11 7/8 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.305

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