Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Rabbits under a Full Moon

Size: 39.0cm by 13.5cm (15.35 in by 5.31 in) | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [L] ?

Designer: Ando Hiroshige

Era: Post-war | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 9,000$ 81.00£ 58.25€ 68.00 [Item has been sold]

Description: This post war print by the Takamizawa Company shows two rabbits in some reeds or grass under a full moon. The jewel-like red eye of the smiling rabbit is the only speck of color in the design (apart from the artist's stamps), and immediately draws the viewer's attention. Perhaps the print is playing on the traditional Japanese belief that the shape of a rabbit can be seen in the moon...

There is a poem on the upper area that can be translated like this : "The night is amorous. Dew covers the bed of grass. Probably the rabbit's wife cannot sleep until late".

The format of the print is called tanzaku-ban, and was very popular during the Edo era. This particular dimension made perfect use of a single sheet of washi being cut into four strips vertically. Many of the prints were actually made 'two-up' and then cut apart for sale later.

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