Title : (Kingfisher and Hydrangea)

Artist : Utagawa Hiroshige

Date : Edo period

Details : More information...

Source : Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Browse all 2123 prints...

Description : Hiroshige created several prints featuring a kingfisher amid irises. Here, however, he paired the bird with hydrangeas, a flowering bush that blossoms in July and is associated with Japan's rainy season. While the Chinese have traditionally admired the kingfisher for its bright blue plummage, in Japan it is often used to symbolize vanity. Hiroshige suggests as much in the accompanying poem: The kingfisher preening his feathers in a watery mirror.

Download Image