Title : The Gods Perform Music to Lure the Sun Goddess from Her Cave

Artist : Utagawa Hiroshige

Date : c. 1847 - 1852

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Source : Honolulu Museum of Art
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Description : This print was conserved with the support of the Robert F. Lange Foundation. After her brother Susanoo damaged her fields and palaces, the enraged Sun Goddess Amaterasu hid inside a cave, plunging the world into darkness. The other gods tricked Amaterasu into coming out by playing music and dancing outside the cave. When Amaterasu emerged to inspect the noise, they said that the celebration was for a new goddess. The other gods placed a mirror in a tree and told Amaterasu, who had never seen her reflection before, that her reflection was the new goddess. She returned with the other gods, bringing sunlight back to the land. Like Hiroshige's print of Izanagi and Izanami on display nearby, this one includes the story above the image. Amaterasu is not shown, but sunlight is peeking out of the cave. Near the caption on the right side a mirror hangs from the tree. It is interesting to note that neither this print nor the Izanami and Izanagi print are landscapes, Hiroshige's specialty. These two prints are part of a very rare series of eleven scenes by Hiroshige, the Honchö nenreki zue, or Illustrated Japanese Calendar of Events.

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