First Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych (c. 1830): Art, History and Details

First Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych (c. 1830) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1797–1861).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This is one of five surimono, privately commissioned prints, making up an image of people collecting sea life at low tide. Ten witty poems, written by members of a poetry circle, appear across the upper part of the composition, with two poems on each print. Based in Edo (now Tokyo), the group was led by Hisakataya Misora (active 1810s–30s), who wrote four of the poems. This composition may have been printed in April, which was considered the best time for beachcombing.

Object facts

• Title: First Print from A Low Tide Pentaptych
• Date: c. 1830
• Creator attribution: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1797–1861)
• Culture: Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
• Type: Print
• Technique: color woodblock print from a pentaptych
• Dimensions: 21.2 x 18.4 cm (8 3/8 x 7 1/4 in.)
• Collection: Japanese Art
• Department: Japanese Art
• Accession number: 1916.1108.a

Collection credit

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.