About This Print
One of 118 prints in the series Dai Nippon Bussan Zue (Products of Greater Japan), issued in August 1877 to coincide with the opening of Japan’s first National Industrial Exposition (Naikoku Kangyō Hakurankai) held in Tokyo’s Ueno Park. It depicts the capturing of falcons using kasumi-ami (see below for an explanation) in Iyo Province (伊予国, Iyo no kuni) which is now part of Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku.
The artist based many of his designs on the designs that appeared in the 1799 book Nihon Sankai Meisan Zue (Famous Sea and Land Products in Japan), leaving some question whether everything Hiroshige III portrayed in the series was truly the "state of the art" in 1877 when the series was issued. (Although for many activities pictured, things wouldhave looked much the same in 1877 as in 1799.) In many cases, the information in the scroll is also copied from the earlier work.
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Illustration of falcon hunting from Nihon Sankai Meisan Zue (Famous Sea and Land Products in Japan), 1799
Kasumi-ami
Source: Migrating Raptors of the World: Their Ecology and Conservation, Keith L. Bildstein, Cornell University Press, 2006, p. 49-50.Kasumi-ami 霞網 are stationary mist nets perfected for bird trapping in Japan in the late 1800s. Originally made of cotton or silk thread, modern mist nets are constructed of black nylon. Most are 6 meters long and 3 meters high. These delicate, light-weight nets, which “disappear” visually against most backgrounds, are used both with and without mechanical or live tethered lures. Mist nets are firmly suspended end-to-end from bamboo, metal, or fiberglass poles, typically in parallel or angled arrays. Nets are placed in areas that are likely to attract feeding migrants, and in many instances raptors are attracted to the nets by already-captured passerines.
Transcription of Scroll
Source: with thanks to Yajifun http://yajifun.tumblr.com/Capturing Falcon in Iyo Province #1 伊豫國鷹捕之図 一
“鷹を捕るにハ張切？（網）とて羅の目一ニ寸にてすが糸を以て作り竪四尺よこ二間はかりなるを鷹觸れハ縮寄やうに張てその下へ提灯羅とて三尺ばかりの丸網の中へ鵯（ヒヨドリ）を入おきかたハらに蛇のかたちを木にて造り竹のつゝに入 糸をながくつけて夜中に仕かけおき早天に鷹木末を出るとき陀の糸を引 鵯の方を目がけて動かせバ恐れて騷立を見て鷹是をとらんとして羅にかゝるをとるなり” ※羅=網 陀=蛇
Multiple Editions (Variant Printings)
At least three variant printings (editions) were made of this series. Each variant printing uses a different colored cartouche containing the series' title, either red, green or rainbow-colored. Different colored borders were also used and variances in the use of colors and shading are present in the three editions.Print Details
| IHL Catalog | #537 and #1508 |
| Title or Description | Capturing Falcons in Iyo Province, figure 1 伊豫國鷹捕之図 一 |
| Series | Dai Nippon Bussan Zue 大日本物産図会 (Products of Greater Japan) |
| Artist | Utagawa Hiroshige III (1842–1894) |
| Signature | 廣重筆 Hiroshige hitsu in bottom right margin (trimmed on this print) |
| Seal | none |
| Publication Date | 1877 (Meiji 10) |
| Publisher | Ōkura Magobei 大倉孫兵衛 (Kin'eido; 1843-1921) [Marks: pub. ref. 627] |
| Impression | IHL Cat. #537: good IHL Cat. #1508: excellent |
| Colors | IHL Cat. #537: excellent IHL Cat. #1508: excellent |
| Condition | IHL Cat. #537: excellent - vertical center fold IHL Cat. #1508: good - vertical center separation held together ty tape verso; thinning and loss to lower right and left margins |
| Genre | nishiki-e; kaika-e |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Format | chuban |
| H x W Paper | IHL Cat. #537: 6 7/8 x 9 3/8 in. (17.5 x 23.8 cm) IHL Cat. #1508: 6 13/16 x 9 1/4 in. (17.3 x 23.5 cm) |
| H x W Image | IHL Cat. #537: 6 3/8 x 9 1/16 in. (16.2 x 23 cm) IHL Cat. #1508: 6 3/8 x 9 1/16 in. (16.2 x 23 cm) |
| Literature | |
| Collections This Print | The Kyushu University Museum Digital Library http://record.museum.kyushu-u.ac.jp/bussan/bu1/bu15.html; Waseda University Library Archive 01_04265_0002 |
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