Artwork preview

Five Cranes by the Water’s Edge, from the series Three Sheets (Mihira no uchi)

Totoya Hokkei

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image features five cranes with white bodies and black-and-brown wings. Their heads are black with light brown crowns. The cranes have long gray beaks and yellow-rimmed eyes. Three cranes have orange legs; one has gray legs; and one has orange-and-gray legs. The cranes are standing on a sandy area with small brown dots speckling it and two dark blue rocks on either side. Behind the cranes, the sandy area descends into a blue body of water with wavy lines indicating movement. The background's top half is a lighter color than the bottom half. The image includes several Japanese characters written in black and a red seal in the bottom-right corner. A red symbol appears in the top-left corner.

Artwork Details

Date
mid- 1810s
Medium
Part of an album of woodblock prints (surimono); ink and color on paper
Culture
Japan
Dimensions
555 × 625 px
Public Domain
Yes
Museum Record
View original
Palette