Mouse Wedding
1812
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
About the artist
1812
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Dominant colour
Mouse Wedding is a 1812 paint by Utagawa Kuninao, a Romanticism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This painting shows two mice in kimonos marching toward a fancy house. One mouse holds a fan. The other carries a gift box. Bright colors pop against a light background. It’s the cover for a tiny children’s book from Japan around 1812. The mice are arranging their daughter’s wedding. Back then, family status mattered a lot for marriages. Look up Utagawa Kuninao to see more of his mouse stories.
This sheet presents the finished designs for the front cover of a small printed book created by Utagawa Kuninao in 1812. The illustration depicts a scene from a story about two mice seeking a suitable bridegroom for their daughter, reflecting the importance of social status in marriage customs of the Edo period. The drawing is a copyist's version, likely made from Kuninao's original sketches, and its survival suggests the designs were never produced as final prints. The object was purchased from Mr. Hogitaro Inada in 1910 as part of the Happer Collection sold by Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge.
Read the full account in the museum source.
