Utagawa Kunisada 歌川 国貞 (Toyokuni III)

The Fourth Month: The first cuckoo (Uzuki: Hatsu hototogisu)

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

Title

The Fourth Month: The first cuckoo (Uzuki: Hatsu hototogisu)
The twelve months
Junikagetsu no uchi

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1854

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Overall: 36.2 x 74.4 cm (14 1/4 x 29 5/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Toyokuni ga

Seals: Censor's seal | aratame; date seal | 1854.6

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Marshall H. Gould

Object Number

30.039.3

Type

Exhibition History

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

Label copy

In this busy kitchen scene, the well-dressed woman at left watches one servant preparing a bonito fish while the second, on the far right, pours sake from a cask into a container. A cuckoo, visible through the window on the left, refers to the time of year: its appearance is a sign that the rainy season is about to begin and the rice should be planted.

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
The Fourth Month: The first cuckoo (Uzuki: Hatsu hototogisu); The twelve months; Junikagetsu no uchi, 1854
Polychrome woodblock print
Overall: 36.2 x 74.4 cm (14 1/4 x 29 5/16 inches)
Gift of Marshall H. Gould 30.039.3

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