Kame o hanatsu tenjiku no ko, by Yashima Gakutei

An image of Kame o hanatsu tenjiku no ko. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing (karazuri), circa 1827-circa 1829. Ukiyo-e. Shikishi-ban. Signed: Gakutei. Late 1820s. Notes: From the series of Spring kyôka surimono entitled Uji shûi monogatari (Additional tales from Uji) commissioned by the Ichiyô poetry circle led by Bumbunsha Kanikomaru. The title refers to the Uji Dainagon monogatari (Tales from the Uji councillor), a collection of stories from the thirteenth century retelling and earlier collection supposedly compiled by Minamoto no Takakuni in the eleventh century. In this story, a boy saved five turtles from death by purchasing them with money entrusted to him by his father. When he returned home empty handed, he expected to be reprimanded by his father, but found that the money had been reimbursed by five mysterious men - the turtles in their true form.

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Kame o hanatsu tenjiku no ko. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing (karazuri), circa 1827-circa 1829. Ukiyo-e. Shikishi-ban. Signed: Gakutei. Late 1820s. Notes: From the series of Spring kyôka surimono entitled Uji shûi monogatari (Additional tales from Uji) commissioned by the Ichiyô poetry circle led by Bumbunsha Kanikomaru. The title refers to the Uji Dainagon monogatari (Tales from the Uji councillor), a collection of stories from the thirteenth century retelling and earlier collection supposedly compiled by Minamoto no Takakuni in the eleventh century. In this story, a boy saved five turtles from death by purchasing them with money entrusted to him by his father. When he returned home empty handed, he expected to be reprimanded by his father, but found that the money had been reimbursed by five mysterious men - the turtles in their true form.

Image data

Accession Number: P.307-1937
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/20.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 899 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 1.02MB
Exposure time: 1/250
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 20/1
Captured: 2017:09:04 10:18:26

Key words

19th Century blind embossing boys carapace colour printing Edo Period embossed embossing Fitz_PDP Gakutei Japan Japanese karazuri kyoka verse male metallic pigment pigment poem poetry poets print Shikishiban surimono tales tortoise turtle turtles ukiyo-e verses woodblock woodcut Yashima Gakutei

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026)
            "Kame o hanatsu tenjiku no ko, by Yashima Gakutei"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-218386 Accessed: 2026-01-16 01:14:28

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            |title=Kame o hanatsu tenjiku no ko, by Yashima Gakutei
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2026-01-16 01:14:28|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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