Album of Sketches by Katsushika Hokusai and His Disciples

19th century

Not on view

The brush-inscribed text between the two roosters explains the odd dynamic of this work:

A drawing of a real rooster
coming to fight the wooden
rooster made by Suminawa.
(Suminawa ga tsukereru ki no
niwatori makoto no niwatori
kitaritekeru zu)

This unsigned drawing is virtually identical to a woodblock-printed illustration published in the popular novel The Tale of the Craftsman of Hida (Hida no takumi monogatari, 1809), authored by Rokujuen Meshimori (1753–1830) and illustrated by Hokusai. The episode of the book represented here relates the story of the master carpenter Suminawa of Hida, who created a carved bird so lifelike that another bird mistook it for a real one. It is assumed that this is a preparatory drawing from which the hanshita-e (block drawing) was made.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

葛飾北斎筆鶏と木材鶏図
Title: Album of Sketches by Katsushika Hokusai and His Disciples
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo))
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 19th century
Culture: Japan
Medium: Album of ninety-seven leaves; ink and color on paper
Dimensions: Each leaf: 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. (39.4 x 26.7 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Object Number: 14.76.59.1–.102
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

By Katsushika Hokusai

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Okazaki Yahagi no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Yahagi Bridge at Okazaki on the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō Okazaki Yahagi no hashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1834

The Suspension Bridge on the Border of Hida and Etchū Provinces (Hietsu no sakai tsuribashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Suspension Bridge on the Border of Hida and Etchū Provinces (Hietsu no sakai tsuribashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830

Cherry Blossoms at Yoshino (Yoshino), from the series Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Cherry Blossoms at Yoshino (Yoshino), from the series Snow, Moon, and Flowers (Setsugekka)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1833

Nakahara in Sagami Province (Sōshū Nakahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Nakahara in Sagami Province (Sōshū Nakahara), from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830–32

The Hanging-cloud Bridge at Mount Gyōdō near Ashikaga (Ashikaga Gyōdōzan kumo no kakehashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran), Katsushika Hokusai Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — The Hanging-cloud Bridge at Mount Gyōdō near Ashikaga (Ashikaga Gyōdōzan kumo no kakehashi), from the series Remarkable Views of Bridges in Various Provinces (Shokoku meikyō kiran)
Katsushika Hokusai
ca. 1830

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