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Thieving Hawk's Sudden Attack (Sarai tonbi), from the series Comic Goldfish (Kingyō zukushi)

c. 1839-1842
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1797–1861)
The "hawk" of the title is actually a goldfish, who has seized a small gold object and is seen here flying over the head of the spectators towards a stone statue of a monkey. In Japanese, the first word of the title is a pun on two other words, one meaning "snatching," the other meaning "worshiping the Buddha," here irreverently represented by a seated monkey.

Object Details

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