Hasegawa Takejiro (Tokyo, 1853 - 1938)
The Tongue-Cut Sparrow [Shitakiri Suzume], 1886
Printed ink and color on paper, 18 x 12 cm (7 1/16 x 4 3/4 in.)
Long Gallery
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner’s collection includes a selection of children’s books. This paperback is one of a popular series of Japanese folk tales translated into English and illustrated with woodblock prints by Kobayashi Eitaku. On the cover of this volume, a procession of sparrows wearing colorfully patterned kimonos follow an elderly woman carrying a large basket that they have filled with demons—her punishment for having cut out the tongue of one of their friends.