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On the Belly of Calmness, the Hand of Anxiety (Dokyô no hara no ue, awate to iu te)


「どきやうのはらの上」 「あわてといふ手」
Artist unknown, Japanese
Publisher: Kawanabe Kyôsai (Japanese, 1831–1889)
Japanese
Edo period
1863 (Bunkyû 3)

Medium/Technique Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions Vertical ôban diptych; 36.6 x 47 cm (14 7/16 x 18 1/2 in.)
Credit Line William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number11.42017a-b
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsPrints

Catalogue Raisonné MFA/Geidai, Double Impact (2015), #2; Kaikan sanjû shûnen kinen Kawanabe Kyôsai kinen bijutsukan cat. (2008), p. 130, #1118; Nagura, Etoki bakumatsu fûshi-ga to tennô (2007), p. 18; Konishi, Nishiki-e Bakumatsu Meiji no rekishi 1 (1977), pp. 16-7
DescriptionMFA impressions: *11.36152a-b (deaccessioned in 2019), 11.42017a-b, 11.42032a-b, 11.45474a-b

The two body parts symbolize contrasting reactions on the parts of citizens of Edo to the news of a possible foreign invasion. At the lower right, people not afflicted by unsettled stomachs calmly go about their business. Above, those affected by "the Hand (te) of Anxiety (awate)" worry that there may be a war and rush about making plans to sell their homes, move their possessions out of town, etc.
Signed Unsigned
無款
ProvenanceBy 1911, purchased by William Sturgis Bigelow (b. 1850–d. 1926), Boston [see note 1]; 1911, gift of Bigelow to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (Accession Date: January 19, 2005)

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.