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「市中に虎あり」
A Tiger in the Marketplace (Shichû ni tora ari)
「市中に虎あり」
Ryûryûkyo Shinsai (Japanese, 1764?–1820)
Japanese
Edo period
about 1804–18 (Bunka era)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Kokonotsugiri; 14.3 x 19 cm (5 5/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.16815
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
The title refers to an ancient Chinese proverb meaning something that is believed only because many people say it is so. Here there really is a tiger, but it is actually a statue used to draw the attention of customers to a shop. The poems allude to the kabuki play Uirō-uri (The Medicine Peddler), whose lead character, a seller of an herbal remedy called uirō, was part of the Toraya (“tiger shop”) family. The second poem compares the medicine with the traditional New Year’s eating of seven different types of herbs.
DescriptionPossibly for 1806, a Year of the Tiger.
Signed
Shinsai ga
辰斎画
辰斎画
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.