#25 Hotaru
- Medium:
- Woodblock print
- Format:
- Oban
- Source:
- Art of Japan
Description
Numbered #25, "Hotaru" (Firefly) refers to a chapter title or motif within a larger series — likely a set organized around chapter headings of The Tale of Genji, whose chapter 25 is titled "Hotaru" and involves an evening firefly-viewing scene used to illuminate a hidden woman's beauty. Kuniyoshi's treatment would characteristically translate such literary refinements into vivid visual terms, perhaps showing a courtly figure against the soft glow of fireflies in a night garden. The firefly's brief luminous life carried heavy connotations of impermanence in Japanese aesthetics.
More Prints by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Woman as the Hero Taisō in Palanquin Holding a Pipe
c. 1830
Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper
Yan Qing (Roshi Ensei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
Poem by Abe no Nakamaro, from an untitled series of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets
Hu Sanniang (Ko Sanjo Ichijosei), from the series "One Hundred and Eight Heroes of the Popular Water Margin (Tsuzoku Suikoden goketsu hyakuhachinin no hitori)"
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Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
#25 Hotaru was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
#25 Hotaru depicts figures, bijin-ga, and night scenes.