Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿

Mallard Ducks and Kingfisher (鴨 翡翠 Kamo kawasemi), Edo Period

Maker

Title

Mallard Ducks and Kingfisher (鴨 翡翠 Kamo kawasemi)

Year

Edo Period

Medium

ink and colors

Materials/Techniques

Dimensions

Horizontal ōban: 25.6 x 38.1 cm (10 1/16 x 15 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription Text/Poem: 鴨
つけ文の つかひものには 地をはしる 恋のやつこも かものとりもち
- 豊年雪丸

翡翠
君とわが のちのよかけて 蓮の葉に いひかはせみの はねをならべん
- 三陀羅法師
Translation: Duck
As he waits for his love letter to be sped in its delivery across land by a duck, he remains a slave to love, as though trapped in birdlime.
—Hōnen no Yukimaru

Kingfisher
Let us exchange vows that you and I will be reborn on the same lotus leaf, and we’ll be forever close, as joined wings of kingfishers. —Sandara Hōshi

*Translated by John T. Carpenter

Place

Place Made: Japan

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

38.014

Mallard Ducks and Kingfisher (鴨 翡翠 Kamo kawasemi)
Myriad Birds: A Kyōka Competition (百千鳥 狂歌合 Momo chidori kyôka awase)

Inscription Text/Poem: 鴨
つけ文の つかひものには 地をはしる 恋のやつこも かものとりもち
- 豊年雪丸

翡翠
君とわが のちのよかけて 蓮の葉に いひかはせみの はねをならべん
- 三陀羅法師
Translation: Duck
As he waits for his love letter to be sped in its delivery across land by a duck, he remains a slave to love, as though trapped in birdlime.
—Hōnen no Yukimaru

Kingfisher
Let us exchange vows that you and I will be reborn on the same lotus leaf, and we’ll be forever close, as joined wings of kingfishers. —Sandara Hōshi

*Translated by John T. Carpenter

Place Made: Japan

Exhibition History

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in Copyright. This object is Mallard Ducks and Kingfisher (鴨 翡翠 Kamo kawasemi) with the accession number of 38.014. To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.