Haru Akebono, by Katsushika Hokusai

An image of Haru Akebono. Hokusai, Katsushika (Japanese, 1760-1849). Surimono. Colour woodblock print with blind-embossing and metallic pigments. Height, sheet, 206 mm, width, sheet, 254 mm, 1806. Ukiyo-e. Notes: From the series Shisui (Four Sleepers), a Chinese subject symbolising perfect tranquility in the form of four dissimilar figures sleeping peacefully together: the Zen monk Bukan, his pupils Kanzan and Jittoku, and a tiger. In this print the monks are represented by a courtesan with her two attendants, whilst the tiger is represented by the tiger-and-bamboo motif decorating one of the kimonos draped over the stand. The tiger is also a reference to the zodiac Year of the Tiger in which the series was made (each of the twelve zodiac signs came round every twelve years). The girls are shown waking from sleep, a reference to the Four Sleepers subject and to the idea of the world awaking from winter embodied in the title of the print. The series was made for the Tsubogawa poetry group whose emblem is seen on the draped obi (sash) and on the robes of the attendants.

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Haru Akebono. Hokusai, Katsushika (Japanese, 1760-1849). Surimono. Colour woodblock print with blind-embossing and metallic pigments. Height, sheet, 206 mm, width, sheet, 254 mm, 1806. Ukiyo-e. Notes: From the series Shisui (Four Sleepers), a Chinese subject symbolising perfect tranquility in the form of four dissimilar figures sleeping peacefully together: the Zen monk Bukan, his pupils Kanzan and Jittoku, and a tiger. In this print the monks are represented by a courtesan with her two attendants, whilst the tiger is represented by the tiger-and-bamboo motif decorating one of the kimonos draped over the stand. The tiger is also a reference to the zodiac Year of the Tiger in which the series was made (each of the twelve zodiac signs came round every twelve years). The girls are shown waking from sleep, a reference to the Four Sleepers subject and to the idea of the world awaking from winter embodied in the title of the print. The series was made for the Tsubogawa poetry group whose emblem is seen on the draped obi (sash) and on the robes of the attendants.

Image data

Accession Number: P.54-1938
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/22.0
Focal length: 80
Camera: Hasselblad H4D
Photographer name: Sam Cole
Image height: 841 pixels
Image width: 1024 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.0 (Windows)
Filesize: 195.34kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 100
Fnumber: 22/1
Captured: 2017:05:22 13:52:36

Key words

19th Century animal animals attendants bamboo blind embossing Buddhism Buddhist colour printing costume courtesan embossed Fitz_PDP Hokusai Japan Japanese karazuri Katsushika Hokusai kimono monks obi print pupils sash sleepers sleeping sleepy slumber surimono tigers ukiyo-e woodblock woodcut Zen Buddhism

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024)
            "Haru Akebono, by Katsushika Hokusai"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-4190833375 Accessed: 2024-11-22 14:30:53

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            {{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-4190833375
            |title=Haru Akebono, by Katsushika Hokusai
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 14:30:53|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Haru Akebono, by Katsushika Hokusai</figcaption>
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