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The Bell Cricket, Chapter 38 (Suzumushi)

Kunisada I (Toyokuni III), 1853, Wood cut
The Bell Cricket, Chapter 38 (Suzumushi)
The Bell Cricket, Chapter 38 (Suzumushi)
The Bell Cricket, Chapter 38 (Suzumushi)
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Category
Library Item
Item no
16232
Title
The Bell Cricket, Chapter 38 (Suzumushi) from the series "A Modern Collection of Genji in Colour Prints" ("Ima Genji nishiki-e awase")
Description
In this print, Mitsuuji (Genji) is shown in a garden accompanied by two young girls. Mitsuuji wears a purple kimono decorated with irises and river motifs. Irises were a popular summer flower. His trousers (hakama) are decorated with a staggered checkerboard pattern, an effect created by a special process known as ikat and kasuri, which involves selectively dying sections of warp and weft threads prior to weaving. Mitsuuji is shown wearing his double samurai swords at his waist and holding a folding fan. The young girl who is closest to him wears a red kimono with a similar woven kasuri pattern. She is shown holding a small boat, while her companion dressed in a blue kimono, holds up a cricket cage. It was fashionable to keep crickets in the home so that people could enjoy their song. Both of the women have elaborately styled hair, dressed with hairpins (kogai).

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
Option
Price
Digital FileElectronic file 72 dpi JPEG​
£7.32(inc. VAT 20%)
Digital FileElectronic File 300 dpi TIFF​
£37.20(inc. VAT 20%)
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