Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿

Small Bird and Japanese Morning Glories (Asagao ni kotori), Edo Period

Maker

Title

Small Bird and Japanese Morning Glories (Asagao ni kotori)

Year

Edo Period

Medium

ink and color

Materials/Techniques

Dimensions

Plate: 34.5 x 7.6 cm (13 9/16 x 3 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Poem:
Me nimo tsuki/hana ya inari no/asobisugi

The cherry blossoms at Inari Shrine/catch one's eye at the festivities-/it's too much

Inari (Fox) Shrines were located all over Edo. One was next door to the Yoshiwara so there may be a double-meaning of being overwhelmed by the cherry blossoms there-courtesans-while at the shrine. "Inari shrine" is also a metaphor for "a lot." "Asobi" can mean participate in the festivities at the shrine and "play," as in amuse oneself in the Yoshiwara. As morning glories are short-lived so is dalliance in the pleasure quarters.

Signature: Utamaro hitsu

Place

Place Made: Japan

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.103

Small Bird and Japanese Morning Glories (Asagao ni kotori)

Poem:
Me nimo tsuki/hana ya inari no/asobisugi

The cherry blossoms at Inari Shrine/catch one's eye at the festivities-/it's too much

Inari (Fox) Shrines were located all over Edo. One was next door to the Yoshiwara so there may be a double-meaning of being overwhelmed by the cherry blossoms there-courtesans-while at the shrine. "Inari shrine" is also a metaphor for "a lot." "Asobi" can mean participate in the festivities at the shrine and "play," as in amuse oneself in the Yoshiwara. As morning glories are short-lived so is dalliance in the pleasure quarters.

Signature: Utamaro hitsu

Place Made: Japan
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 Small Bird and Japanese Morning Glories (Asagao ni kotori) with the accession number of 34.103. To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.