The Floating World
Kingfisher and Irises
Utagawa Hiroshige · c. 1830s
What it is
A kingfisher drops toward blue irises rising from the water's edge, its dive barely begun.
Why it matters
Kingfisher and iris is a classic summer pairing — jewel-bird over sword-leaf — and Hiroshige returned to the subject more than once; this is it at its cleanest.
What to notice
Bird and flower share one palette — the kingfisher's back and the iris petals are the same blues, as if the bird had risen out of the flowers.
"The bird and the flower wear one color. Summer made them both."
The record
- Artist
- Utagawa Hiroshige 歌川広重 (1797–1858)
- Date
- c. 1830s
- Medium
- woodblock print; ink and color on paper
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons · 歌川広重画 燕子花に川蝉-Kingfisher and Iris MET DP121353.jpg
Impression note. Printings differ in the depth of the blues shared by bird and flower and in the gradation at the water's edge; a fine impression keeps the iris blades' keyblock lines sharp to the tip. Impression variance is real — printings differ in wiping and fading — and choosing the finest openly held impression is the curatorial act.
Public domain; faithfully reproduced.
Bring it home
Printed to order on EMA matte art paper, 200gsm.
More Utagawa Hiroshige
Utagawa HiroshigeSparrows and Camellia in SnowUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1830s
Utagawa HiroshigeBullfinch and Weeping CherryUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1834
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)Nihonbashi: Morning SceneUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34
Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Hōeidō edition)Shinagawa: SunriseUtagawa Hiroshige · c. 1833–34The road at your moment — Painted Earth’s ukiyo-e style pack.