Creator: Hiroshige, Ando (Japanese) 1797-1858
Title: a Shoal of Fishes #9 Ise-Ebi series of 20
Work type: Color woodcut
Date: 1840
Material: Ink on paper
Measurements: Image (26 x 36 cm)
Description: One lobster and two shrimp
Repository: Wetmore Print Collection, Art History Dept, Cummings Arts Center, Connecticut College, New London Donated by Prof. Caroline Black, Botany Dept, Connecticut College
Collection: Connecticut College slide # 0075, black085
Description:
This print is #9 in a series of 20 in the Shoal of Fishes and depicts three crustaceans. The largest is a spiny lobster or crawfish that takes up more than three-quarters of the print. The lobster’s body is illustrated in fine detail with little spines coming off of the antennae and a rich blue accenting the eyes and swimmerets. Calligraphy above the crustaceans head follows the arch of the anetennae in whispy ink writing. It looks like an extension of the small sensory antenea pertruding from the lobster’s mouth. Two shrimp are pictured in the far right corner, just behind the lobster’s tail. They lack some of the finite details of the larger crustacean but still have a dotted detailed pattern on their backs.
Analysis:
Both the lobster and the two shrimps symbolize the prospering fishing communities during the Edo period in Japan. The Japanese spiny lobster is known for liking the warm waters of the pacific ocean near Japan and can also be found near China, Korea, and Taiwan. These lobsters have particular significance in Japanese culture because they can be found in the Ise Bay, giving them their nickname Ise-Ebi. The Ise Bay is located in the holy city of Ise, a city known for its abundance of natural resources and the Ise Grand Shrine. Shrimp, Ebi, were also commonly fished from the Ise Bay and play a large role in Japanese cuisine. Because of this significance, this print might hang in a resturant that serves spiny lobster and shrimp or perhaps in the house of a fisherman who specializes in finding this crustaceans.
References
Connecticut College Japanese Print Collection
HIROSHIGE, Ando, Japanese, 1797-1858. (1840). A Shoal of Fishes series of 20, #9 ISEEBI & EBI (crawfish/spiny lobster & shrimp/prawn). [color woodcut]. Retrieved from https://library.artstor.org/asset/CONNASIAN_106310617042
Yu, A. C. “Ise Ebi (Japanese Spiny Lobster) – Japanese Wiki Corpus.” Ise Ebi (Japanese Spiny Lobster) – Japanese Wiki Corpus, .https://www.japanese-wiki-corpus.org/culture/Ise%20Ebi%20(Japanese%20spiny%20lobster).html
