Tickets
English
DonateMembership
Tickets

Warbler on a Plum Branch

ca. 1835
Not on view
Poems included on Hiroshige’s bird-and-flower compositions are usually unsigned, but sometimes they are by famous poets, such as this verse by Suganuma Kyokusui (1659–1717), a poet of the samurai class who was a pupil and patron of Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694). Here, Kyokusui playfully suggests that the warbler (uguisu) pays its yearly taxes in the spring by generously singing a song on the small grove where it lives.

鶯や　二升五合の　藪年貢
Uguisu ya
masumasu hanjō no
yabu nengu

Oh, the warbler!
It pays a generous tithe
for such a tiny grove.
—Trans. John T. Carpenter

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 歌川広重画　梅に鶯
  • Title: Warbler on a Plum Branch
  • Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1797–1858 Tokyo (Edo))
  • Period: Edo period (1615–1868)
  • Date: ca. 1835
  • Culture: Japan
  • Medium: Woodblock print
  • Dimensions: 14 1/2 x 5 1/8 in. (36.8 x 13 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: The Howard Mansfield Collection, Purchase, Rogers Fund, 1936
  • Object Number: JP2529
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Ōtsu, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi, Ōtsu), Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper, Japan
Ōtsu, from the series The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi, Ōtsu)
Utagawa Hiroshige
1841–44
Armor (<i>Gusoku</i>), Saotome Ietada Japanese, Iron, lacquer, silk, gilt copper, Japanese
Armor (Gusoku)
Armorer Helmet bowl signed Saotome Ietada
Armorer Breastplate inscribed inside, Myōchin Munesuke
16th and 18th centuries
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei), Suzuki Harunobu Japanese, Woodblock print (first edition); ink and colors on paper, medium-sized print (chuban), Japan
Night Rain at the Double-Shelf Stand, from the series Eight Parlor Views (Zashiki hakkei)
Suzuki Harunobu
ca. 1766
Sudden Shower in Shōno, Utagawa Hiroshige Japanese, Woodblock print; ink and color on paper, Japan
Sudden Shower in Shōno
Utagawa Hiroshige
ca. 1833–34
Koto (箏), Various woods, ivory, metal, nylon, tortoiseshell, abalone, lacquerwork, Japanese
Koto (箏)
Japanese
20th century

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.