A Pair of Quails and Poppies
Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese
Not on view
In poetry, barley quails (mugi-uzura) are traditionally associated with late spring, and poppies (keshi) in bloom with mid-summer, so a dream in autumn about this avian species is a hope for a warmer, less grim season of life.
秋の夢 見てや啼出す 麦鶉
Aki no yume
mite ya nakidasu
mugiuzura
In an autumn dream,
the barley quails
begin to chirp.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
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