Utagawa Kunisada 歌川 国貞 (Toyokuni III)

The Fifth Month: Flower Arranging Contest (Satsuki, Ikebana awase)

Maker

Utagawa Kunisada 歌川 国貞 (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786-1865, b. in Edo)
Tsutaya Kichizō 蔦屋吉蔵 (Japanese, c. 1830-1859, active in Edo, Japan), publisher
Yokokawa Takejirō 横川彫武 (Active in Edo in the mid-1800s), block carver

Title

The Fifth Month: Flower Arranging Contest (Satsuki, Ikebana awase)
from the series The Twelve Months (Jūni tsuki no uchi)
十二月ノ内
皐月生花合

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1854

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Vertical ōban triptych: 36 x 74.8 cm (14 3/16 x 29 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Signed: Toyokuni ga
Censor's seal: Aratame, Tiger 6
Blockcutter's mark: Hori Take

Seals: Engraver's seal | Horitake;censor's seal | aratame; date seal | 1854.6

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Marshall H. Gould

Object Number

30.039.7

Type

Exhibition History

Kunisada's Twelve Month Series
Oct 10, 2008 – Feb 01, 2009

Label copy

The flower arrangements (ikebana) in this print all focus on irises, which bloom in the fifth month. The Boy’s Festival, celebrated on the fifth day of the month, was associated with a particular type of iris known as shobu.

Kunisada's Twelve Months
Images of Women in Japanese Woodblock Prints
Mar 07, 1997 – May 03, 1997
The Twelve Months at Home
Mar 27, 1992 – May 17, 1992

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

Tombstone

Utagawa Kunisada 歌川 国貞 (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786-1865, b. in Edo)
Tsutaya Kichizō 蔦屋吉蔵 (Japanese, c. 1830-1859, active in Edo, Japan), publisher
Yokokawa Takejirō 横川彫武 (Active in Edo in the mid-1800s), block carver
The Fifth Month: Flower Arranging Contest (Satsuki, Ikebana awase); from the series The Twelve Months (Jūni tsuki no uchi); 十二月ノ内; 皐月生花合, 1854
Polychrome woodblock print
Vertical ōban triptych: 36 x 74.8 cm (14 3/16 x 29 7/16 inches)
Gift of Marshall H. Gould 30.039.7

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