Mallard Ducks and Snow-covered Reeds
Interestingly, Hiroshige used this same haikai (seventeen-syllable seasonal poem) on other prints of the same theme. This work has a seal that reads “Tōryō” (藤夌), though the poet’s identity is still unknown. In contrast to the conventional cursive script of the poem’s inscription, here the characters are rendered in kanji that must be read phonetically:
鴨鳴屋 風吹思和無 水廼遠毛 (鴨鳴や 風吹しはむ 水のをも)
Kamo naku ya
kaze fuki-shiwamu
mizu no omo
A duck quacks—
as the wind wrinkles
the face of the water.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
鴨鳴屋 風吹思和無 水廼遠毛 (鴨鳴や 風吹しはむ 水のをも)
Kamo naku ya
kaze fuki-shiwamu
mizu no omo
A duck quacks—
as the wind wrinkles
the face of the water.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter
Artwork Details
- 歌川広重画 雪中芦に鴨
- Title: Mallard Ducks and Snow-covered Reeds
- Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1797–1858 Tokyo (Edo))
- Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
- Date: ca. 1843
- Culture: Japan
- Medium: Woodblock print
- Dimensions: H. 14 7/8 in. (37.8 cm); W. 5 1/16 in. (12.9 cm)
- Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
- Object Number: JP1895
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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