Artwork Page for Second Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych

Details / Information for Second Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych

Second Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych

c. 1830

Utagawa Kuniyoshi 歌川 国芳

(Japanese, 1797–1861)
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Culture
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Medium
color woodblock print from a pentaptych
Measurements
21.2 x 18.4 cm (8 3/8 x 7 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1108.b
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This is one of five surimono, privately commissioned prints, making up an image of people collecting sea life at low tide. Ten witty poems, written by members of a poetry circle, appear across the upper part of the composition, with two poems on each print. Based in Edo (now Tokyo), the group was led by Hisakataya Misora (active 1810s–30s), who wrote four of the poems. This composition may have been printed in April, which was considered the best time for beachcombing.
A vertically oriented woodblock print depicts a person with a light skin tone crouching on a gray beach. Wearing a blue striped robe and patterned headscarf, they hold a pale octopus in a pool of blue water. Behind them, figures occupy a wooden boat near the shore while dark gray trees line the horizon. Vertical columns of Japanese calligraphy and red seals fill the upper portion, with black characters in the lower right.

Second Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych

c. 1830

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

(Japanese, 1797–1861)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)

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