Minneapolis Institute of Art

Lion Training Cub

Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Wakasaya Yoichi

Date

c. 1835–39

Medium

Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Although lions are not native to China, the Japanese have long referred to them as karajishi , or Chinese lions, because the first lion images seen in Japan came from China in the 9th century. This print’s subject alludes to a well-known Chinese proverb about a lioness testing the strength and stamina of her cubs by pushing them off a cliff. She accepts only those able to climb back up the rocky precipice. In some versions, the lioness conducts this terrible test when the cubs are only three days old. The first line of the accompanying poem probably refers to cubs that survived into their fourth day. The four-day-old Chinese lion although just a little cub, is as graceful as a peony flower. Asia

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