Minneapolis Institute of Art
Kingfisher and Viburnum
Utagawa Hiroshige; Publisher: Kawaguchiya ShōzōLinkedCulture matchlcp-17df63ad9005
- Date
- early 1840s
- Medium
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e), ink and color on paper
- Department
- Asian Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 62993
Hiroshige created several prints featuring a kingfisher amid irises. Here, however, he paired the bird with hydrangeas, a flowering bush that blossoms in July and is associated with Japan's rainy season. While the Chinese have traditionally admired the kingfisher for its bright blue plummage, in Japan it is often used to symbolize vanity. Hiroshige suggests as much in the accompanying poem: The kingfisher preening his feathers in a watery mirror. Asia
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Louis W. Hill, Jr.
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