Mystical Bird (Karyōbinga)

1820–33

Not on view

This surimono New Year's card depicts a mystical Buddhist bird (karyōbinga in Japanese; kalavinca in Sanskrit) characterized by a bird's body and a human head. It is said that one can never tire of listening to the creature's heavenly music. The New Year's poems were inscribed by Nikyō and Kokusui.

Hokusai's signature reads Hokusai aratame Iitsu ("Hokusai changed to Iitsu"). The work is from the artist's very productive Iitsu period (ca. 1820–33).

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Mystical Bird (Karyōbinga)
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo))
Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
Date: 1820–33
Culture: Japan
Medium: Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Dimensions: 8 9/16 x 7 1/16 in. (21.7 x 17.9 cm)
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Object Number: JP1868
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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