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c. 1839-1842

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

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.

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