Land of the Pygmies (Kojin koku)
- Date:
- Fifth month of 1863
- Medium:
- Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 37.1 × 25.2 cm
- Source:
- Harvard Art Museums
Description
"Land of the Pygmies" (Kojin koku, 1863) depicts a scene from the Chinese classic "Shanhaijing" (Classic of Mountains and Seas) or related fantastic geography texts describing a land of diminutive people. The subject belongs to a tradition of exotic geography prints popular in Edo culture, which delighted in depicting the monstrous and the marvelous peoples imagined to inhabit the far reaches of the world. Yoshitoshi renders the scene with a mixture of wonder and comedy characteristic of early Meiji engagements with foreign and fantastical subjects.
More Prints by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi
More Landscapes Prints
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Autumn Maple Leaves at Takao, from the album Eight Views of Kyoto (Kyôto hakkei)
Woodblock print
The Beach at Kaiganji in Sanuki Province (Sanuki Kaiganji no hama), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan II, Kansai Edition (Nihon fukei shu II Kansai hen)"
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
Tea Kettle, section of a sheet from the series "Mirror of Stone Rubbings of Views of the Provinces" (Kohon meihitsu ishizuri kagami)
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Land of the Pygmies (Kojin koku) was created by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡芳年) in Fifth month of 1863.
Land of the Pygmies (Kojin koku) depicts landscapes, figures, and mythology.
Land of the Pygmies (Kojin koku) measures 37.1 × 25.2 cm (Oban format).