The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Year of the Dragon or Rat, Kubota Shunman, c. 1800
color woodcut, h 195mm × w 249mm More details
The title of the luxuriously bound book depicted in this print is The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. All the objects around it refer to the five impossible tasks in the tale, namely finding the begging bowl of the Buddha, a jewelled branch, a robe of fire-rat fur, a dragon’s jewel, and the shell of a special snail. It is up to the viewer to spot them.
