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Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Sparrow and Bamboo (Take ni suzume)

Maker

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797-1858, b. in Edo)
Kawaguchiya Shōzō 川口屋正蔵 (Japanese, ca. 1824-1852), publisher

Title

Sparrow and Bamboo (Take ni suzume)

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1830s

Medium

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Polychrome wood block print

Materials

ink, color

Supports

  • paper

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Edo (location)

Dimensions

Image: 35.1 x 11.6 cm (13 13/16 x 4 9/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Poem: Kara bito no/kuse o kononde/take ni made/akaki kokoro o/utsusu edakumi In admiration of/the ways of the Chinese,/this printing process/carries a feeling for red/even into the bamboo (trans. Marks in Bogel)Poem signed by Hachijintei and with red kao (cursive monogram). Amsterdam (Hiroshige), pp. 16-17 states that Hiroshige designed a series of kachô-e for the poet Hachijintei of which 34.259, 34.229 and 34.220 are other examples. Marks notes that the word kara, the character used to mean Tang China, is associated with karakurenai, Chinese red. [notations] jûssai Tonarime (ten year-old Tonarime) above round censor's seal kiwame and oblong publisher's seal; see Bogel entry for explanation of neighbor girl who designed the sparrow; poem signed Hachijintei and with red kao (cursive monogram)Red square stamp partially visible verso, bottom right.

Signature: Signed at left | Hiroshige hitsu; Signed at right | Jûssai Tonarime

Seals: Artist's seal | Hiroshige; publisher's seal | Kawaguchiya Shôzô (Shôeidô); censor's seal | kiwame

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Object Number

34.213.2

Type

  • Prints

Related Objects

In a narrow vertical frame a small gray bird swoops downwards towards red and brown bamboo shoots against a sunrise sky. Thin calligraphy floats in the upper right corner.

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Tree Sparrow and Bamboo, Edo Period
A brown owl perched on a branch among clusters of pine needles, with eyes closed against a soft blue sky. To the right is thin flowing calligraphy.

Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重

Horned Owl Pine, and Crescent Moon, Edo Period

More objects +

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

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 歌川広重 (Japanese, 1797-1858, b. in Edo)
Kawaguchiya Shōzō 川口屋正蔵 (Japanese, ca. 1824-1852), publisher
Sparrow and Bamboo (Take ni suzume), 1830s
Polychrome wood block print
Image: 35.1 x 11.6 cm (13 13/16 x 4 9/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. 34.213.2

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

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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