Advanced Search 
「風流蛙大合戦之図」
Like his first teacher, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kyōsai designed many appealing prints of animals, often showing them imitating human behavior. In addition to its obvious comic aspects, this triptych had a deeper political meaning at the time it was made. The Tokugawa shogunate, represented by the army of frogs with the water cannon, was about to launch military reprisals against its rivals in the province of Chōshū. By 1868, however, the rule of the shoguns had ended and the new Meiji era began.
Fashionable Battle of Frogs (Fûryû kaeru ôgassen no zu)
「風流蛙大合戦之図」
Kawanabe Kyôsai (Japanese, 1831–1889)
Publisher: Surugaya Sakujirô (Japanese)
Blockcutter: Katada Chôjirô (Hori Chô) (Japanese)
Publisher: Surugaya Sakujirô (Japanese)
Blockcutter: Katada Chôjirô (Hori Chô) (Japanese)
Japanese
Edo period
1864 (Bunkyû 4/Genji 1), 2nd month
Medium/Technique
Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Vertical ôban triptych; 35.4 × 73.8 cm (13 15/16 × 29 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.37139a-c
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsPrints
Like his first teacher, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kyōsai designed many appealing prints of animals, often showing them imitating human behavior. In addition to its obvious comic aspects, this triptych had a deeper political meaning at the time it was made. The Tokugawa shogunate, represented by the army of frogs with the water cannon, was about to launch military reprisals against its rivals in the province of Chōshū. By 1868, however, the rule of the shoguns had ended and the new Meiji era began.
Catalogue Raisonné
Bakumatsu Meiji no tensai eshi Kawanabe Kyôsai ten (1998), #111; Oikawa, Clark & Forrer, Comic Genius: Kawanabe Kyôsai/Kyôsai giga kyôga ten (1996), #35; Edo-Tokyo Museum, Kawanabe Kyôsai to Edo Tôkyô (1994), #32; Clark, Demon of Painting (1993), #103
Signed
Ôju Kyônin (on right sheet), Ôju Kyôsha (on center and left sheets)
応需狂人 応需狂者
応需狂人 応需狂者
Marks
Censor's seal: Rat 2 aratame
Blockcutter's mark: Hori Chô
改印：子二改
彫師：彫長
Blockcutter's mark: Hori Chô
改印：子二改
彫師：彫長
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850–d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 19, 2005)
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.