The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

The Snowy Garden

1854

Utagawa Hiroshige

(Japanese, 1797–1858)

and Utagawa Kunisada

(Japanese, 1786–1865)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Triptych of color woodblock prints, ink and color on paper
Sheet: 35.6 x 75 cm (14 x 29 1/2 in.)
Bequest of James Parmelee 1940.989
Location: Not on view

Description

These prints depict an episode from A Rustic Genji, a Japanese graphic novel based on the 11th-century classic The Tale of Genji. Three maidservants are making a giant snow rabbit while the protagonist of A Rustic Genji, Ashikaga Jiro Mitsuuji, stands in the snow with a woman who is possibly his lover. Stylistic hallmarks tell us that Utagawa Kunisada was responsible for the figures and the giant snow rabbit and Utagawa Hiroshige designed the background landscape. This collaboration—both artists signed the prints—on a Genji-related work targeted a broader audience by capitalizing on each artist’s individual strengths.
  • ?–1940
    James Parmelee [1855–1931], Cleveland, OH and Washington, DC, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1940–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Milliken, William M., Henry S. Francis, Howard Hollis, Gertrude Underhill, Silvia A. Wunderlich, and Nell G. Sill. “The Bequest of James Parmelee.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 28, no. 2 (February 1941): 15–31. www.jstor.org
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (March 27-July 10, 2017).
    Later Japanese Art Rotation (Gallery 113). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (December 4, 2003-March 18, 2004).
  • {{cite web|title=The Snowy Garden|url=false|author=Utagawa Hiroshige, Utagawa Kunisada|year=1854|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1940.989