The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 14, 2025

Catching Fireflies Beneath a Willow Tree (center)

c. 1796–97
(Japanese, c. 1754–1806)
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
Triptych: color woodblock print
Sheet: 38.2 x 76.8 cm (15 1/16 x 30 1/4 in.)
Gift of Jeptha H. Wade in honor of Emily V. Wade 1975.98.b
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

A sense of movement is conveyed by their sleeves fluttering in the breeze.

Description

Caught up in a frenzied pursuit of fireflies, one boy has waded into a stream after his quarry, while a younger one watches in anticipation as a young woman thrusts her fan into the air in the hope of capturing hers. In the center of the composition, a girl examines the insects trapped in her elegantly carved cage.
  • ?–1975
    Jeptha H. Wade III [1924–2008], Massachusetts, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1975–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1975.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 63, no. 2, 1976, pp. 31–71. Mentioned: p. 71, cat. no. 165 www.jstor.org
  • Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (March 27-July 10, 2017).
    Japanese Gallery 235 Rotation - January-July 2017. The Cleveland Museum of Art (January 9-July 10, 2017).
    Japanese Woodblock Prints: Themes and Techniques. Cleveland Museum of Art Education Department, Cleveland, OH (1980).
    Year in Review 1975. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 3-March 7, 1976).
  • {{cite web|title=Catching Fireflies Beneath a Willow Tree (center)|url=false|author=Kitagawa Utamaro|year=c. 1796–97|access-date=14 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.98.b