Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重
Maker
Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797-1858, b. in Edo, Japan)
Maruya Seijiro, publisher
Title
Mud hen and sweet iris (Shobu ni kuina)
Period
Year
Medium
Materials/Techniques
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Techniques
Materials
ink, colorSupports
Geography
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Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo
Dimensions
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Image: 23.3 x 17.1 cm (9 3/16 x 6 3/4 inches)
Signature / Inscription / Marks
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Inscription verso, bottom right in pencil:X2977/[Japanese Characters][text and poems] Shobu ni kuina (title); poem:Tsugihashi no/ato o mizu ta no/kuina kana (A mud hen and plank bridge, the time for planting rice)Tsugihashi is a bridge with planks making reference to the Yatsuhashi (eight-plank) bridge and iris in Tales of Ise. Ato o indicates that once the bird flies away it does not look back. Mizu ta (water field) means the wet field at the time for planting rice. The kuina is known for its distinctive voice. The linking of the three images, mud hen, wet field and iris indicates early summer and also allude to Yoshida Kenko's Tsuretsuregusa (Essays in Idleness).
Signature: Signed on each | Hiroshige hitsu
Seals: Publisher's seal | Sei ~ in circle; censor's seal | kiwame Credit / Object Number
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Credit
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
Object Number
34.349A Type
Related Objects
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Tombstone
Maruya Seijiro, publisher
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