The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 20, 2026

Seven muted blue woodblock books are arranged in two rows. Each vertical cover features two tan dragonfly line drawings. A vertical white label with black calligraphy is positioned on the left side of each cover, while small white identification tags are pasted near the top edges. The books are thread-bound along the right side. Frayed corners and darkened labels visible throughout reveal the collection's age and handling.

People of Japan in Light Verse (Kyōka)

1857

Utagawa Hiroshige

(Japanese, 1797–1858)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Set of seven woodblock-printed books; ink and color on paper
Book: 23.5 x 16.7 cm (9 1/4 x 6 9/16 in.)
Gift of Kelvin Smith 1976.150
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

This seven-volume set of illustrated books contains humorous poems about a variety of professions set around paired designs of people plying their trades.
  • ?–1976
    Kelvin Smith [1899–1984], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1976–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1976.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (February 1977): 39–78. Mentioned: cat. no. 135, p. 78 www.jstor.org
  • Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
  • {{cite web|title=People of Japan in Light Verse (Kyōka)|url=false|author=Utagawa Hiroshige|year=1857|access-date=20 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1976.150