Accession Number
1982/1.204

Title
Monkey in a persimmon tree

Artist(s)
Ohara Shōson (Koson)

Object Creation Date
1935

Medium & Support
Color woodblock print on paper

Dimensions
10 11/16 in x 9 1/2 in (27.2 cm x 24.2 cm)

Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Margaret Watson Parker Art Collection Fund

Label copy
Vibrant colors such as these are typical of Ohara Shôson’s work after the great Kantô earthquake of 1923. Increased economic pressures resulting from the disaster forced many printmakers to seek markets outside the domestic clientele. Since Japanese woodblock prints remained attractive to foreigners, Shôson may have adopted this more colorful palette to appeal to Western tastes.
The wasp, monkey, and persimmons in this scene recall the Japanese folktale of Monkey and Crab. In the story, a mother crab met a monkey, who persuaded her to trade her rice ball for a persimmon seed. The monkey devoured the rice ball, while the crab planted and nurtured the seed. It grew into a fruitful tree, and the crab asked the monkey to harvest and share the fruit. Greedily, the monkey throws a hard persimmon at the crab below, crushing her. Enlisting the aid of outside help including a wasp, the crab's children seek revenge.
(Japanese Gallery Rotation, Spring 2009)

Subject matter
Monkey and wasp in a persimmon tree

Physical Description
Boldly colored monkey in a persimmon tree. A wasp hovers near its nest hanging from a branch.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
color print

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Ukiyo-e
fruit (plant components)
gold (metal)
monkeys (animals)
trees