Artwork Page for Catching Fireflies Beneath a Willow Tree (left)

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Catching Fireflies Beneath a Willow Tree (left)

c. 1796–97

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川 歌麿

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
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Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
Triptych: color woodblock print
Measurements
Sheet: 38.2 x 76.8 cm (15 1/16 x 30 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Jeptha H. Wade in honor of Emily V. Wade 1975.98.c
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

A sense of movement is conveyed by their sleeves fluttering in the breeze.

Description

Caught up in a frenzied pursuit of fireflies, one boy has waded into a stream after his quarry, while a younger one watches in anticipation as a young woman thrusts her fan into the air in the hope of capturing hers. In the center of the composition, a girl examines the insects trapped in her elegantly carved cage.
A vertically oriented woodblock print depicts three people with light skin tones beneath a willow tree at night. On the left, a woman in a floral gray kimono sits holding a round fan. In the center, a woman reaches upward with a patterned fan, her black garments wrapped in layered folds. To her right, a boy in a checkered orange robe carries a small cage. Vertical Japanese calligraphy and red seals mark the corner.

Catching Fireflies Beneath a Willow Tree (left)

c. 1796–97

Kitagawa Utamaro

(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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