Utagawa KUNISADA II
(Japan 1823–1880)
- Title
- The bell cricket (Chapter 38), from the series Playing cards of Murasaki Shikibu's Genji
- Place of origin
-
Japan
- Period
- Edo (Tokugawa) period 1615 - 1868 → Japan
- Year
- 1857
- Media category
- Materials used
- colour woodcut; ôban
- Dimensions
-
33.0 x 22.9cm image; 33.3 x 23.7cm sheet
- Signature & date
- Signed c.r., in Japanese, black ink "[Baichôrô Kunisada ga]". Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of G F Williams 1995
- Accession number
- 425.2001.3
- Location
- Lower Asian gallery
- Further information
Accession no.s 425.2001.1-5 - These five prints for the 'Tale of Genji' subject is a good example of the 'Genji' pictures, which became popular after the 1829-42 publication of the 'Phony rustic Genji', an Edo-period version of the famous 11th century novel by Lady Murasaki. Set in the Muromachi period (14th-16th century), the novel nevertheless depicted the contemporary life of the women's quarters inside the Edo Castle; lavishly illustrated by KUNISADA I. the popularity of the novel triggered a number of 'ukiyo-e' prints relating to the 'Tale of Genji'.
Asian Art Dept.
AGNSW 16 October 2001
