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Oh, It Hurts: Giant Octopus of Namerikawa in Etchū Province, from the series Affectionate Feelings for Mountains and Seas

Oh, It Hurts: Giant Octopus of Namerikawa in Etchū Province, from the series Affectionate Feelings for Mountains and Seas

On View

Not currently on view

Kuniyoshi, Utagawa and Utagawa Yoshitorijo

Oh, It Hurts is number seven from the series. It includes a landscape design of Etchu Province, which is celebrated for giant octopus that is considered a delicacy. The phrase “Oh, It hurts!” refers directly to the beautiful woman being scratched by the playful cat, but also alludes to the octopus having its tentacles cut off in the boat visible in the inset. The fur of the large cat contains gauffrage or blind printing, a technique that decoratively embosses the paper.
Artist
Kuniyoshi, Utagawa and Utagawa Yoshitorijo
(Japanese, 1798-1861) (Japanese, active ca. 1850)
Title
Oh, It Hurts: Giant Octopus of Namerikawa in Etchū Province, from the series Affectionate Feelings for Mountains and Seas
Date
8/1852
Medium
Color woodcut
Dimensions
358 x 246 mm Overall
Credit
Bequest of John H. Van Vleck
Accession No.
1980.2689
Classification
Prints
Geography
Japan

Related

Collection of Happer; by 1917, collection of Lucy F. Brown (New York, NY); 1917, sold to Edward Burr Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 1943, passed through inheritance to Edward’s son, John H. Van Vleck (Madison, WI); 9 January 1980, bequeathed by John H. Van Vleck to the Elvehjem Museum of Art [now called Chazen Museum of Art]

  • Mueller, Laura. "Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School." Leiden, The Netherlands: Hotei Publishing, 2007. p. 168, no. 152
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "The Edward Burr Van Vleck Collection of Japanese Prints." Madison: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1990. p. 265

  • Utagawa: Masters of the Japanese Print, 1770-1900: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/2/2009–11/26/2009
  • Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints of the Utagawa School: Chazen Museum of Art, 11/3/2007–1/6/2008
  • Chōnin: Japanese Art from the Elvehjem Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, 9/1/2001–11/11/2001

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