Skip to content

Bracken Shoots, Chapter 48 (Sawarabi)

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1853, Wood cut
Bracken Shoots, Chapter 48 (Sawarabi)
Bracken Shoots, Chapter 48 (Sawarabi)
Bracken Shoots, Chapter 48 (Sawarabi)
Share
Category
Library Item
Item no
16243
Title
Bracken Shoots, Chapter 48 (Sawarabi) from the series "A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour Prints" ("Ima Genji nishiki-e awase")
Description
A boy wearing a red long sleeved kimono and blue trousers (hakama) presents a woman with a lacquered box. He also clutches a basket of bracken shoots. The boy's samurai sword is visible at his waist. The woman holds out both her hands to receive the box from the boy. She is dressed in a purple long sleeved kimono decorated with a chrysanthemum pattern. Her hair is modestly styled and her obi belt is fastened behind her. The two figures are standing outside under a blossoming tree by a wooden gateway. Behind them is a brushwood fence.

This image derives from the serial novel or 'gokan', 'A Fake Murasaki and a Rustic Genji' (Nise Murasaki Inaka Genji) written by Ryutei Tanehiko and illustrated by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III), that was published between 1829-1842. This story reworks elements from the 'Tale of Genji' and transposes the action from the Heian period (794-1185) to the time of the Muromachi era's Onin Wars (1467-1477).
Artist / maker
Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Date
1853
Size
27.9 x 19.8 cm
Type
Location
Art and Design Library
Rights and purchasing
Required information
Media options