Landscape and Legend

Utagawa Hiroshige

Wild Geese Flying under the Full Moon

c. 1833

Woodblock print, 38.1 × 12.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Geese slant down across a huge full moon in a tall, narrow sheet.

• In East Asian poetry, the eighth month's full moon marked the height of autumn.
• The poem at upper left wonders whether so lovely a night will ever return.
• Fixed seasonal pairings let picture and poem work as one.

Image: The Met Open Access · Public domain (Met Open Access)