Fighting between a rat and a cat (title not original)
by Ogata Gekko
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
Description
The fighting rat and cat—in a print labeled as having a non-original title—suggests this work may have come without a reliable attribution, or that the whimsical subject was given a descriptive title after the fact. The rat fighting a cat—the natural prey turning on its predator—carried a long tradition in Japanese humorous art, the reversed power relationship a vehicle for social commentary. Gekko's version likely treats the animal combat with the same dramatic energy he applied to human warrior conflicts.
More Prints by Ogata Gekko
MORNING GLORIES AT IRIYA, TOKYO
Woodblock print
Nippon-damashii, Kyokaku 日本魂 侠客 / Gekko zuihitsu 月耕随筆
Woodblock print
Onodera Koemon Hidetomi 小野寺幸右衛門秀富 / Gishi shijushichi zu 義士四十七図
Woodblock print
Beauties Harvesting Bracken, from the series Gekkō’s Miscellaney
c. 1886–1899
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
More Animals Prints
Snake Charmers (Hebizukai)
Hebizukai
1932
Color woodblock print; oban
Hoshifuri Pine at Zen'yoji Temple in Edogawa (Edogawa-ku Zen'yoji Hoshifuri matsu), from the series "One Hundred Views of Great Tokyo in the Showa Era (Showa dai Tokyo fukei hyaku zue hanga)"
1935
Color woodblock print; oban
Drawing for Rabbit and Boy
1964
Acrylic paint and oil pastel with oiled charcoal and ink over an ink and graphite underdrawing on paper
Rabbit and Boy
1964
Color lithograph with relief block and hand coloring; edition 35/36
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fighting between a rat and a cat (title not original) was created by Ogata Gekko (尾形月耕).
Fighting between a rat and a cat (title not original) depicts animals and cats.