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「青物魚軍勢大合戦之図」
The Great Battle of the Vegetables and the Fish (Aomono sakana gunzei ô-kassen no zu)
「青物魚軍勢大合戦之図」
Japanese
Edo period
1859 (Ansei 6), 10th month
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban triptych; 36 x 74.9 cm (14 3/16 x 29 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.22771a-c
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Catalogue Raisonné
Matsushita, Nishiki-e ga kataru edo no shoku (2009), pp. 68-69; Ôta Mus., Edo yôkai dai zukan (2014), #83; Haubner, Die Macht des Bogens (2014), p. 205; Ôta Mus., Warau ukiyo-e (2013), #57; Konishi, Nishiki-e Bakumatsu Meiji no rekishi 1 (1977), pp. 76-7
DescriptionMFA impressions: 11.22770a-c, 11.22771a-c
According to Konishi, the subject refers to the cholera epidemic of 1858. To avoid the disease, it was considered safer to eat vegetables rather than fish. Harada, however, interprets the image as a reference to the power struggles surrounding the 14th Tokugawa shogun, Iemochi.
According to Konishi, the subject refers to the cholera epidemic of 1858. To avoid the disease, it was considered safer to eat vegetables rather than fish. Harada, however, interprets the image as a reference to the power struggles surrounding the 14th Tokugawa shogun, Iemochi.
Signed
Hirokage ga (on each sheet)
広景画
広景画
Marks
Censor's seal: Goat 10 aratame
No blockcutter's mark
改印：未十改
彫師：なし
No blockcutter's mark
改印：未十改
彫師：なし
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.