Seventieth Birthday Celebrations
Woodblock Print
1851-1852 (made)
1851-1852 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is from a series illustrating episodes from the popular and frequently performed Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (The Secrets of Sugawara's Calligraphy), a play based on the life of the Heian period poet, scholar and politician Sugawara no Michizane (845-903). A man of great talents, Michizane was the victim of a political conspiracy that resulted in his being banished to the island of Kyushu in 901. The series of disasters that befell the imperial court after Sugawara's death in exile were ascribed to his angry ghost. Attempts were made to placate his spirit by posthumously pardoning him and reinstating him in office. The scene depicted here shows the wives of two of the triplet sons of Shiradayu, Sugawara's faithful retainer, gathering herbs in preparation for their father-in-law's 70th birthday feast.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Colour print from woodblocks |
| Brief description | Woodblock print, Utagawa Hiroshige I; 'Seventieth Birthday Celebrations', from the series 'The Chronicles of Sugawara Michizane'; fan print, Japanese, 1849-1852 |
| Physical description | Fan print, aiban size. Artist signature: Hiroshige ga. Publisher mark: Ibaya Senzaburo. Censor seals: Kinugasa and Murata. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | R. Leicester Harmsworth Gift |
| Summary | This uchiwa-e (rigid fan print) design by Hiroshige is from a series illustrating episodes from the popular and frequently performed Sugawara Denju Tenarai Kagami (The Secrets of Sugawara's Calligraphy), a play based on the life of the Heian period poet, scholar and politician Sugawara no Michizane (845-903). A man of great talents, Michizane was the victim of a political conspiracy that resulted in his being banished to the island of Kyushu in 901. The series of disasters that befell the imperial court after Sugawara's death in exile were ascribed to his angry ghost. Attempts were made to placate his spirit by posthumously pardoning him and reinstating him in office. The scene depicted here shows the wives of two of the triplet sons of Shiradayu, Sugawara's faithful retainer, gathering herbs in preparation for their father-in-law's 70th birthday feast. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | E.2922-1913 |
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| Record created | December 17, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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