Kitagawa Tsukimaro. Snow, Moon, and Flowers: Parody of Contemporary Customs: Hōjō-e, Releasing a Turtle / Ōban, 1811-14.

Artist: Kitagawa Tsukimaro [喜多川月麿] (Japanese, fl. c. 1794–1836)

Signed: Tsukimaro hitsu (月麿筆)

Publisher: Yamaguchiya Tōbei [山口屋藤兵衛] (Japanese, c. 1805-1895)

Censor Seal: 極 (kiwame)

Date: Bunka 8–11 (1811–1814)

Media: Woodblock print (nishiki-e), horizontal ōban, 262 × 389 mm

Title (Inscribed): Setsugekka mitate fūzoku (雪月花見立風俗, Snow, Moon, and Flowers: Parody of Contemporary Customs)

A mother crouches beside her child, dressed in a blue kimono patterned with sinuous foliage and mokko-shaped flowers, worn loosely to reveal her chest. She wears a black checkered obi and a red undergarment visible at the sleeves. The child, seated in front of her, wears a red mitsumasu-patterned kimono and a traditional bib (yodarekake, よだれかけ) with a black collar and a purple front decorated with cherry blossoms. Together, they prepare to release a turtle secured by a red string tied to a wooden box.

Behind them stands a cylindrical paper lantern illuminated from within, used for shadow play (kage-e dōrō, 影絵燈籠). The figure’s silhouette holding a fan appears on the lantern’s surface.

The inscription in the upper left reproduces a classical waka poem:

花の色は	Hana no iro wa	The colors of the flowers
うつりにけりな	Utsuri ni kerina	have already faded away
いたづらに	Itazura ni	while in vain
わが身世にふる	Waga mi yo ni furu	I have passed my days in the world
ながめせしまに	Nagame seshi ma ni	gazing out at the long rains

This is poem no. 9 from the Hyakunin isshu (百人一首), a classical poetry anthology, attributed to Ono no Komachi [小野小町] (Japanese, c. 825 – c. 900), one of the Rokkasen—the six poetic immortals of the early Heian period. The verse reflects on the fading of beauty with time, using the metaphor of flowers losing their color in the rain. This print links the scene to the theme of “flowers” (hana no bu, 花の部) and associates the woman with Ono no Komachi.

This composition likely alludes to the Hōjō-e (放生会), a Buddhist ritual involving the release of living creatures to accumulate merit. Freeing the turtle, especially with a child’s involvement, suggests a moment of moral instruction or symbolic purity. The shadow-play lantern introduces a domestic and playful element, momentarily suspended by a contemplative or compassionate gesture. The print forms part of a thematic series associating seasonal motifs of snow, moon, and flowers with contemporary customs.

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