Cranes of Immortality

late 1910s

Japanese, 1870 - 1931

Almost certainly, the crane is the most auspicious symbol in Japan, as well as the most ubiquitous. Today the crane has become a symbol of world peace through the story of Hiroshima bombing victim Sadako Sasaki and her wish to fold one thousand paper cranes before her death from radiation poisoning. Since ancient times, however, cranes have been depicted on every kind of East Asian artistic medium as symbols of longevity and goodwill. In this painting, a pair of red-crowned cranes specifically signifies the wish for a long and harmonious marriage. By foregrounding the stately cranes against a highly decorative background of green waves, the artist has breathed fresh life into an age-old motif.

Color on silk

Image: 49 × 19 1/2 in. (124.5 × 49.5 cm)

Overall: 81 × 27 1/4 in. (205.7 × 69.2 cm)

Gift of Griffith and Patricia Way, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

2010.41.80

Photo: Eduardo Calderon

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, "Live Long and Prosper: Auspicious Motifs in East Asian Art", May 23, 2009 - February 21, 2010

Washington, DC, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Sotatsu, Oct. 24, 2015 - Jan. 31, 2016. Text by Yukio Lippit and James T. Ulak. Cat. no. 54, reproduced p. 298.

Published ReferencesMichiyo, Morioka; Berry, Paul. "Modern Masters of Kyoto: The Transformation of Japanese Painting Traditions," Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1999, p. 163, illus. 39.

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