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Utagawa Hiroshige II 二代目 歌川広重

Small bird and ivy (Tsuta ni kotori)

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige II 二代目 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1826-1869, b. in Edo)
Yamashiroya Jinbei (Japanese), publisher

Title

Small bird and ivy (Tsuta ni kotori)

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1843-1847

Medium

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials

ink and color

Supports

  • paper

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Koban: 22.5 x 16.4 cm (8 7/8 x 6 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription verso, near bottom left: 6364; in a later hand verso, near bottom center:X3825 [Japanese Characters] [text and poems] Furoshiki no (translates to) Ivy arabesques iro mo utsukushi (translates to)colorful as a kerchief koyo no/shigure ni somuru (translates to)tinted with the dyes tsuta no karakusa (translates to)of autumn maple leaves mixed in summer shower rain (trans. Marks in Bogel)See translation notes in Bogel.As shigure, intermittent rain, is a season word (kigo) for early winter and ivy a symbol of autumn, "summer" in the translation above is confusing. Although Marks makes an acceptable argument for the substitution of "kerchief" for "wrapping cloth" (furoshiki) one might consider a more literal, less poetic translation: Arabesques of ivy in the drizzling rain, like wrapping cloths dyed the gorgeous color of maplesThis poem, signed Hachijintei, appears on 34.260 (Published Kobayashi, no. 322; Bogel, pl. 69 [with synonyms kashikushi substituted for utsukushi and momiji for koyo]). The wording of the poem is ambiguous. The poet may be inside looking at a furoshiki patterned with arabesques of ivy while it is raining intermittently outside or he may be seeing the patterns of red ivy as crimson squares of cloth.

Signature: Signed at right | Shigenobu hitsu

Seals: Publisher's seal | Yamajin han;censor's seal | Kinugasa Taichiro | Murata Heiemon

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.355

Type

  • Prints

Related Objects

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Bird and ivy (Tsuta ni kotori), Edo (Japanese period)

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Image use

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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 Hiroshige II 二代目 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1826-1869, b. in Edo)
Yamashiroya Jinbei (Japanese), publisher
Small bird and ivy (Tsuta ni kotori), 1843-1847
Polychrome wood block print
Koban: 22.5 x 16.4 cm (8 7/8 x 6 7/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.355

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

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