Dragon, by Yashima Gakutei

An image of Dragon. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing. Poetry by Fukunoya Uchinori and Rokujuen, circa 1820. Ukiyo-e. Notes: [facsimile? JC] From a pair of Tiger and Dragon. A female Daoist immortal is playing the koto (zither) under a pine tree, while the shadow of the aged plum tree assumes the appearance of a dragon crawling down the trunk. This print was commissioned by the Gogawa poetry group, headed by Rokujuen (Ishikawa Masamochi: 1753-1830), Gakutei’s poetry teacher, who was also a well known scholar of Japanese classics and translator of Chinese popular stories.

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Dragon. Gakutei, Yashima (Japanese, 1786(?)-1868). Surimono. Colour print from woodblocks, with metallic pigment and blind embossing. Poetry by Fukunoya Uchinori and Rokujuen, circa 1820. Ukiyo-e. Notes: [facsimile? JC] From a pair of Tiger and Dragon. A female Daoist immortal is playing the koto (zither) under a pine tree, while the shadow of the aged plum tree assumes the appearance of a dragon crawling down the trunk. This print was commissioned by the Gogawa poetry group, headed by Rokujuen (Ishikawa Masamochi: 1753-1830), Gakutei’s poetry teacher, who was also a well known scholar of Japanese classics and translator of Chinese popular stories.

Image data

Accession Number: P.278-1937
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H4D-31
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 1025 pixels
Image width: 905 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 921.12kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 22/1
Captured: 2017:07:24 10:52:12

Key words

19th Century beasts colour printing creature creatures Daoist dragons Edo Period embossed embossing female Fitz_PDP fruits Gakutei guzheng immortal immortality Japan Japanese koto legendary creatures metallic pigment music musical musical instruments musician mythical beasts mythical creature pigment pine trees pines playing playing an instrument plum tree plums print surimono trees ukiyo-e woman woodblock woodcut Yashima Gakutei zither

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2026)
            "Dragon, by Yashima Gakutei"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-2711252852 Accessed: 2026-02-08 12:19:42

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            {{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-2711252852
            |title=Dragon, by Yashima Gakutei
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2026-02-08 12:19:42|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Dragon, by Yashima Gakutei</figcaption>
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