Rice-Pounding Rabbit

Art Institute of Chicago

Rice-Pounding Rabbit

Tanaka ShuteiLinkedCulture matchlcp-9b2e228eed12

Date
1855
Medium
Color woodblock print; surimono
Culture
Japan
Department
Arts of Asia
Institution
Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID
43384

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

This humorous scene of a rabbit pounding a mochi rice cake in a Chinese-style urn represents a sophisticated layering of narrative and pictorial traditions. In East Asian lore, rice cake–pounding rabbits are said to live on the surface of the moon. The artist Tanaka Shutei, an active printer and print designer in Osaka, also referenced a scene from the popular story of Kaguya Hime. He depicted Kaguya, a princess from the moon, in her lunar palace, peeking at the work of the rabbit. The rabbit heralded the arrival of both the year of the rabbit and the New Year in general, as rice cake pounding is an important activity at that time of year.

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Credit line
Charles H. Mitchell Collection unrestricted gift
Provenance
Charles H. Mitchell (1910-1986), Tokyo; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1972.

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Object type
AAT300041273

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