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「今やう娘七小町 あふむ小まち」
Parrots and related birds were not native to Japan but were known there from early times. One of seven famous plays about the 10th-century poet and renowned beauty Ono no Komachi told how she “parroted” the words of a poem by the emperor in her witty reply to him. In this modern parody, a young lady admires a white cockatoo on an elaborate perch, indicating that it is an expensive, luxurious import.
Parrot Komachi (Ômu Komachi), from the series Modern Girls as the Seven Komachi (Imayô musume Nana Komachi)
「今やう娘七小町 あふむ小まち」
Utagawa Toyokuni I (Japanese, 1769–1825)
Japanese
Edo period
1810s (late Bunka era)
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban; 38.4 x 25.5 cm (15 1/8 x 10 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Henry Adams
Accession Number20.125
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Parrots and related birds were not native to Japan but were known there from early times. One of seven famous plays about the 10th-century poet and renowned beauty Ono no Komachi told how she “parroted” the words of a poem by the emperor in her witty reply to him. In this modern parody, a young lady admires a white cockatoo on an elaborate perch, indicating that it is an expensive, luxurious import.
Catalogue Raisonné
Another print in the series (Sotoba): Kokubungaku kenkyû shiryôkan, ed., Zusetsu mitate to yatsushi (2008), p. 41, cat. no. 34
DescriptionMFA impressions: 11.13678, 20.125, 21.6987
Unidentified publisher's mark.
Unidentified publisher's mark.
Signed
Toyokuni ga
豊国画
豊国画
Marks
Censor's seal: kiwame
改印：極
改印：極
ProvenanceHenry Brooks Adams (b. 1838 - d. 1918), Washington, DC; 1920, gift of the estate of Henry Brooks Adams to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 22, 1920)