Firefly
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- June 1934
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 40.8 × 25.6 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
by Ito Shinsui
Shinsui's extensive oeuvre spans bijin-ga, landscapes, and genre subjects. Auction averages over 12 months reflect healthy collector demand across all subject types.
A woman holds a firefly or pursues one through the summer darkness, the tiny luminescent insect serving as the emotional center of this June 1934 print. The firefly (hotaru) was a richly coded symbol in Japanese literature and art—associated with the souls of the dead, the brevity of summer, and the ardor of nighttime lovers. Shinsui renders the scene with the careful attention to fabric texture and facial expression that defines his [bijin-ga](/glossary/bijin-ga) work, while the insect gives the composition a note of delicate seasonal poetry.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Firefly was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in June 1934.
Firefly was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (June 1934).
Firefly depicts insects.
Firefly measures 40.8 × 25.6 cm (Oban format).
