Myriad Birds: A Playful Poetry Contest (Momo chidori kyōka-awase)
Original title: Myriad Birds:A Playful Poetry Contest (Momo chidori kyōka-awase), 2 vols.
kurzbeschreibung
Two volumes of a woodblock-printed book by Kitagawa Utamaro, made in 1790 and printed in ink and colour on paper. They hold a kyōka poetry contest, a playful verse-matching game that was much enjoyed in the late Edo period.
Description
Brown and beige tones spread across the book spines in a dense pattern of flowers and scrolling vines. Near the top sit a small red seal and a white label giving the number 77 and the words 'Kitagawa Utamaro 2 Vols. 1754-1806'. The paper feels slightly rough, the colours are restrained, and no human figures or narrative scenes appear anywhere.
Context
Kyōka, comic and often ironic poems, flourished in the late Edo period, and Utamaro brought out this book within that moment. Illustrated volumes of the kind were popular with urban art lovers, offering both entertainment and a way of displaying cultural taste. The birds named in the title point to nature motifs that Japanese art often uses to suggest lightness and transience.
Impact
Calm and elegant, the page works through its delicate ornament and muted tones. The layered pattern draws the eye and invites a closer look, revealing the high craftsmanship of the woodcut.
Technique
The book was printed as a woodcut in ink and colour on paper. Fine lines and subtle gradations of colour are hallmarks of the elaborate Japanese printing technique of the eighteenth century.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)