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Geisha Looking up at a Cuckoo
Public domain

Geisha Looking up at a Cuckoo

Katsushika Taito II · 1822 · color woodcut; blind-stamped; paper

From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

A geisha washes her sake cup in a porcelain bowl with an iris leaf, while she looks back at a calling cuckoo. On the ground a small pot with spiced sake and behind her a lacquer box where her koto (Japanese string instrument) lies. With two poems. The iris leaf refers to the Boys' Festival, which is celebrated in the fifth month. The cuckoo also refers to that month.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Subjects
surimono
Credit lineGeisha Looking up at a Cuckoo. 1822. Katsushika Taito II. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
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