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Swallows and Budding Wild Cherry

ca. 1835
Not on view
The poem is unsigned, as is often the case with poems on Hiroshige’s bird-and-flower prints, but the verse is known to be by Takarai Kikaku (Enomoto Kikaku, 1661–1707), a professional poet who numbered among the top disciples of Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694). Swallows (tsubame) are common subjects in haikai set in spring, as in this example:

山の端に　乙鳥をかへす　入日かな　宝井其角

Yama no ha ni
tsubame o kaesu
irihi kana

The setting sun—
over the mountain ridge
sends the swallows home.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 歌川広重画 山桜に燕
  • Title: Swallows and Budding Wild Cherry
  • Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1797–1858 Tokyo (Edo))
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1835
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Woodblock print
  • Dimensions: 15 1/8 x 5 1/8 in. (38.4 x 13 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
  • Object Number: JP2531
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa oki nami ura), or The Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei)

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