Mallard Ducks and Snow-covered Reeds

ca. 1843

Not on view

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

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

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

More Artwork

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Small View of Yedo, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Print, Japanese — Small View of Yedo
Utagawa Hiroshige
1817–58

Hiratsuka, Nawate Do, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Hiratsuka, Nawate Do
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1834

Yokkaichi, Sanchokawa, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Yokkaichi, Sanchokawa
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1834

Snow on the Sumida River, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Snow on the Sumida River
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1835

Reflections of the Moon in the Rice Fields of Sarashina in Shinshu, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan — Reflections of the Moon in the Rice Fields of Sarashina in Shinshu
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1832

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