Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) and Joshuya Shigezo
An Imitation of Lady Maya Giving Birth to Prince Siddhartha
1851
Scroll
- Artist: Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III)
- Publisher: Joshuya Shigezo
An Imitation of Lady Maya Giving Birth to Prince Siddhartha
1851
Physical Qualities
Color woodcut, Sheet (left): 366 x 244 mm. (14 7/16 x 9 5/8 in.)
Sheet (center): 366 x 244 mm. (14 7/16 x 9 5/8 in.)
Sheet (right): 368 x 244 mm. (14 1/2 x 9 5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Robert Freedman
Object Number
1957.209.15
The print takes us indoors on New Year’s Day as a lady and her companions amuse themselves by recreating events surrounding the birth of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. One attendant enters from the left carrying a lacquer “island stand.” This New Year’s decoration symbolizes Japan’s creation through the union of male and female principles. The two figures on top of the stand as well as the trees, cranes, and tortoises embody undying affection, happiness, and longevity.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1957; Robert Freedman, Baltimore, purchased in Japan
New Arrivals: Gifts of Art for a New Century
Frank Binkley, "Oriental Series: Japan, Its History, Arts, and Literature," Boston & Tokyo: J. B. Millet Company, 1902, pp. 197-198.
Haruo Shirane, "Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literatur, and the Arts," NY: Columbia University Press, 2013.
Haruo Shirane, "Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons: Nature, Literatur, and the Arts," NY: Columbia University Press, 2013.
Inscribed: FACE: signature, c-R) censer's date seals; Kochoro Toyokuni ga, toshidama seal; publisher's seal b-M) censer's date seals; Ichiyosai Toyokuni ga, toshidama seal; a-L) censer's date seals; Kochoro Toyokuni ga, toshidama seal; publisher seal.
