Flowering Plum Tree
Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese
Not on view
Branches of budding red and white plum blossoms sprouting from an aged, gnarled trunk remind us that appearances can be deceptive, and that old can give birth to new. The seventeen-syllable haikai—inscribed in cursive columns of calligraphy that echo the shapes of the branches—reads:
長閑さに やはらかになる 力こぶ
有松
Nodokasa ni
yawaraka ni naru
chikara kobu
Though so gently
and with supple ease—
they flex their muscles.
—Arimatsu
(Trans. John T. Carpenter)
Other impressions of this print have blue background with a moon in reserve behind the branches on the right.
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