Item from the Mokuhankan Flea Market

Land Snail and Giant Katydid

Size: 26.5cm by 38.0cm (10.43 in by 14.96 in) | Enlargement | Shipping Code: [L] ?

Designer: Kitagawa Utamaro

Era: Early Showa | Currency: $ / £ / €

Price: ¥ 12,000$ 96.00£ 70.00€ 82.00

  

Description: The print is from Utamaro's series Pictures of Insects (Ehon Mushi Erami); a collection of 15 designs of insects and other garden creatures that pairs various insects with humorous or suggestive poems (kyoka) reflecting on human behavior. The poems were written by Ishikawa Masamochi. In this scene a giant katydid climbs steadily up a ripening eggplant, while a snail rests atop a broad pumpkin leaf below.

The accompanying kyoka on the right reads:

I am riled by love’s untruths, just like the land snail lets out its horns when wet.

The giant katydid reminds me of a noisy woman who screams in jealous rage.

This verse playfully uses the insects as metaphors for emotional complexities of love such as desire, irritation and uncertainty.

This version is a post-war reproduction by the Ukiyoe Hanga Kankokai.

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