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「道化十二支 蛇の目ずしの寅」 「道化十二支 卯のだんごや」
Tigers and the Snake-eye Sushi Sign (Janome-zushi no tora) and Hares' Dumpling Shop (Usagi no dangoya), from the series Comical Twelve Signs of the Zodiac (Dôke jûnishi)
「道化十二支 蛇の目ずしの寅」 「道化十二支 卯のだんごや」
Japanese
Edo period
about 1841 (Tenpô 12)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Two vertical chûban designs on uncut horizontal ôban sheet; 24.3 x 35.5 cm (9 9/16 x 14 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.16571
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Catalogue Raisonné
Inagaki and Isao, Kuniyoshi no kyôga (1991), #15
DescriptionThe tigers are frightened by the snake-eye trademark of the sushi shop because it resembles the family crest of the historical samurai Katô Kiyomasa (generally called "Masakiyo" or sometimes "Watônai" in prints) who was said to have killed a tiger (an animal not found in Japan) during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the 1590s. Hares are associated with the full moon, and the round dumplings are moon-shaped.
Signed
Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi ga (on each design)
一勇斎国芳画
一勇斎国芳画
Marks
No censor's seal
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.