No. 2, Throwing Dice (Ni, Ichi roku), from the series Famous Horses (Meiba soroe)
「名馬揃 二 一六」
Japanese
Edo period
1834 (Tenpô 5)
Artist Yanagawa Shigenobu II (Japanese, active about 1830–60)
Catalogue Raisonné
Carpenter et al, Reading Surimono (2008), #236
Dimensions
Shikishiban; 20.9 x 18.5 cm (8 1/4 x 7 5/16 in.)
Accession Number
11.20732
Medium or Technique
Woodblock print (surimono); ink and color on paper
Not On View
Collections
Classifications
Poems translated in Carpenter et al 2008, p. 359.
The titles and poems in this series play on the names of famous horses in Japanese history. In this case no specific horse has been identified, but the game pieces are called “colts” (koma).
Inscription
Poem by Shôsai Kakuô: Ichi roku no/ koime furidasu/ sugoroku wa/ koma no hakobi mo/ isamu haru no hi
Poem by Tôtôen no Takimori: Harusame ni/ tsubomeru ume no/ hana narade/ fureba koime mo/ kurenai no iro
Poem by Rikkaen: Midori nasu/ furiwake-gami wa/ sugoroku no/ tsutsu-izutsu ni zo/ taruru aoyagi
Signed
Nisei Yanagawa Shigenobu ga
二世柳川重信画
Provenance
By 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850 - d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: August 3, 1911)
NOTES:
[1] Much of Bigelow's collection of Asian art was formed during his residence in Japan between 1882 and 1889, although he also made acquisitions in Europe and the United States. Bigelow deposited many of these objects at the MFA in 1890 before donating them to the Museum's collection at later dates.
Credit Line
William Sturgis Bigelow Collection