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.
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
#25 Hotaru was created by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳).
#25 Hotaru depicts figures, bijin-ga, and night scenes.
