Ohara Koson (小原古邨) / Shōson (祥邨) (artist 1877 – 1945)

Seated monkey studying a wasp by its stinger in his hand [猿と蜂 - Saru to hachi]

Print

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Date:ca 1910
Dimensions:7.25 in x 13.5 in (Overall dimensions) Medium:Japanese woodblock print
Inscription:Signed: Koson (古邨)
Seal: Koson
Links National Museum of Asian Art
Rijksmuseum
Lyon Collection - Shōson print of a monkey in a persimmon tree with a wasp Description:The publisher was probably Daikokuya Heikichi.

Illustrated in a small color reproduction in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: the natural world of Ohara Koson 1877-1945 by Amy Riegel Newland, Jan Perée and Robert Schaap, #K41.18, p. 191. This volume describes this print as a 'Seated monkey with a dragonfly in his hand'. This is clearly a mistake, because the insect is a wasp and not a dragonfly. The kanji for wasp (hachi) is 蜂, while the kanji for dragonfly (tombo is 蜻蛉. The Ota Museum exhibition listed this print as 'Monkey and bee' (猿と蜂). Note that the Japanese for bee and wasp are the same.
Related entities kachō-e (bird and flower picture - 花鳥絵) (genre)
modern prints (shin hanga - 新版画) (genre)
Daikokuya Heikichi (大黒屋平吉) (publisher)

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