Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞 (Toyokuni III)

The third month: The Doll Festival (弥生 雛祭 Yayoi: Hina matsuri)

Maker

Utagawa Kunisada 歌川国貞 (Toyokuni III) (1786-1865, b. in Edo, Japan)
Tsutaya Kichizō 蔦屋吉蔵 (1830-1859, Edo, Japan), publisher
Yokokawa Takejirō 横川彫武 (Edo in the mid-1800s), block carver

Title

The third month: The Doll Festival (弥生 雛祭 Yayoi: Hina matsuri)
from the series The Twelve Months (十二月ノ内 Jūni tsuki no uchi)
Junikagetsu no uchi

Period

Edo Period

Year

1854

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and colors

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Vertical ōban triptych: 36.5 x 74.8 cm (14 3/8 x 29 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: 豊国画 Toyokuni ga (pictured by Toyokuni)

Seals: Censor's seals: aratame, Tiger 4
Block cutter's mark: 彫竹 Hori Take
Censor's seal: 改 aratame
Date seal: 寅四 Tiger 4
Publisher's seal: Ivy leaf under three peaks of Mount Fuji (Tsutaya Kichizō)
彫師：

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Marshall H. Gould

Object Number

30.039.11

Type

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 13: Storage

The RISD Museum’s thirteenth issue of Manual unpacks the idea and reality of storage-objects museums don’t put on view, works made as containers of various sorts, and more metaphorical considerations about how meanings and narratives are stored. This issue serves as a companion to the Raid the Icebox Now series of exhibitions on view at the RISD Museum through November 2020, in which nine contemporary artists and design collectives use the museum and its collections as a site for critical creative production and presentation. Raid the Icebox Now marks the 50th anniversary of Raid the Icebox 1 with Andy Warhol*, held in 1970 at the RISD Museum.

Exhibition History

Deep Cuts
Stories from Japanese Surimono Prints
May 23, 2026 – Oct 04, 2026
Kunisada's Twelve Month Series
Oct 10, 2008 – Feb 01, 2009

Label copy

The Doll Festival, which celebrated the young girls of the household, took place on the third day of the third month, when the flowering peach trees (momo) are in bloom. The customary display of dolls and other miniature objects is suggested on the left, where a corner of a tiny palanquin (an enclosed conveyance on poles supported by bearers and used to transport a seated person) supports a tiered arrangement of dolls representing the imperial court.

Kunisada's Twelve Months
Images of Women in Japanese Woodblock Prints
Mar 07, 1997 – May 03, 1997
The Twelve Months at Home
Mar 27, 1992 – May 17, 1992

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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 Kunisada 歌川国貞 (Toyokuni III) (1786-1865, b. in Edo, Japan)
Tsutaya Kichizō 蔦屋吉蔵 (1830-1859, Edo, Japan), publisher
Yokokawa Takejirō 横川彫武 (Edo in the mid-1800s), block carver
The third month: The Doll Festival (弥生 雛祭 Yayoi: Hina matsuri); from the series The Twelve Months (十二月ノ内 Jūni tsuki no uchi); Junikagetsu no uchi, 1854
Polychrome woodblock-printed triptych (nishiki-e)
Vertical ōban triptych: 36.5 x 74.8 cm (14 3/8 x 29 7/16 inches)
Gift of Marshall H. Gould 30.039.11

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