Scene from the Toungue-cut Sparrow

Scene from the Toungue-cut Sparrow

Shibata Zeshin, 19th century

Download4000 × 3914 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Shibata Zeshin (Japanese, 1807–1891)
Medium: Woodblock print (surimono), ink and color on paper
Size: 9 1/2 × 9 1/2 in. (24.1 × 24.1 cm) (image, sheet, uchiwa-e)
Museum: Minneapolis Institute of Art
Rights: Public Domain Mark

Based on the old folktale Shitakiri-suzume, or Tongue-cut Sparrow, this print shows a man carrying a basket on his back. The three figures with brown round heads, which are walking beside him, are sparrows. The image depicts a later scene of the tale. After enjoying the sparrows' hospitality, the old man must return home. Upon leaving, the sparrows offer him the choice of a small basket or a large basket. Being modest and thoughtful, he chooses the small one.

When he arrives home, he opens the basket and finds it filled with treasure. Thereupon, his greedy wife rushes to the forest and demands the larger basket from the sparrows. Although instructed not to open it until she returns home, she immediately removes the cover only to find venomous snakes, angry bees, and poisonous insects. Zeshin, a nature-loving painter, skillfully and humorously rendered the sparrows in human disguise. Although elegantly dressed, the figures somehow suggest the forms of small birds.

Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.

More by Shibata Zeshin

The Four Accomplishments [right of a pair]

The Four Accomplishments [right of a pair]

Shibata Zeshin, second half 19th century

Morning Glories

Morning Glories

Shibata Zeshin, ca. 1860

Leaves and Bird

Leaves and Bird

Shibata Zeshin, 19th century

Lacquer Paintings of Various Subjects: Drum for Gagaku Dance

Lacquer Paintings of Various Subjects: Drum for Gagaku Dance

Shibata Zeshin, 1882

Lacquer Paintings of Various Subjects: Peonies

Lacquer Paintings of Various Subjects: Peonies

Shibata Zeshin, 1882

Autumn [left of a pair of Birds and Flowers in Spring and Autumn]

Autumn [left of a pair of Birds and Flowers in Spring and Autumn]

Shibata Zeshin, second half 19th century

The Four Accomplishments [left of a pair]

The Four Accomplishments [left of a pair]

Shibata Zeshin, second half 19th century

Autumn Maple

Shibata Zeshin, late 19th century

Cock on Drum

Shibata Zeshin, 1882

Nagisa Palace from the Tales of Ise

Nagisa Palace from the Tales of Ise

Shibata Zeshin, late 1800s

Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons

Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons

Sun and Plum Branches

Sun and Plum Branches

Visually similar

Cherry Shell, from the series Genroku Poetry Shell Games

Cherry Shell, from the series Genroku Poetry Shell Games

Katsushika Hokusai, probably 1821

Visitors to Enoshima

Visitors to Enoshima

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1801/04

The Marsh Where the Snipe Takes Flight (Shigi tatsu sawa), from the series "Three Evening Poems (Sanseki no uchi)"

The Marsh Where the Snipe Takes Flight (Shigi tatsu sawa), from the series "Three Evening Poems (Sanseki no uchi)"

Katsushika Hokusai, n.d.

Mishima, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"

Mishima, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1806

Mishima, Morning Mist, in The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road (Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi-no Uchi)

Mishima, Morning Mist, in The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road (Tokaido Gojusan Tsugi-no Uchi)

Utagawa Hiroshige, ca. 1834

Women and Attendents by the Beach of Tanakawa

Women and Attendents by the Beach of Tanakawa

Katsushika Hokusai, 1800-10

Hakone, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"

Hakone, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1806

Suhara, from the series Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido

Suhara, from the series Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido

Utagawa Hiroshige, 1835 or 1836

Women Distracting a Child whose Kite is caught in a Tree

Women Distracting a Child whose Kite is caught in a Tree

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1800

Arai, 1 ri and 26 chō until Shirasuga

Arai, 1 ri and 26 chō until Shirasuga

Katsushika Hokusai, 1804

Yoshida, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"

Yoshida, from the series "Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Tokaido gojusan tsugi)"

Katsushika Hokusai, c. 1806

Iris Garden

Katsushika Hokusai, 1800s