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September 2008 
I'm nobody, who are you?
Posted on Mar 31st, 2008
by 
Quiche
Quiche
I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!-Emily Dickinson
Ukiyo-e froggies from a detail of a print. Notice the froggies in the background that appear to be "part of the woodwork". The artist is Kunisada Utagawa 1786-1865. I started to just post the detail of the frogs, but the entire print is so nifty and whimsical, and well, there are frogs, so here is the entire print:
Note: I have this linked to my Blogger page, so clicking the above print will open a window showing it in a larger (huge!) resolution.
Access: Public
I love the detail, but the gigantic froggie looming behind is wonderful, too good to miss!
Exactly! It's fun to imagine what happens next, the “Oh Crap!” look when he discovers the mammoth froggie behind him, and how the artist might have portrayed that. It is an adventure every time I visit Ukiyo-e sites.
The artist is Kunisada Utagawa 1786-1865- I looked up his signature on the left hand side of the print above, red background, yellow border, from a visual reference of Ukiyo-e signatures! I feel better now. He deserves recognition for his splendid prints.
I agree that he deserves the recognition, but not having his name did kind of fit the theme of the post, didn't it?
You have a point there, but then the poem is not anonymous either. I think Emily was referring more to people who derive their sense of worth from the opinions of others and public popularity, and model themselves accordingly to suit the crowd, as opposed to people who have an inner sense of self-worth, aside from externals, who are genuine, whether the crowd accepts them or not. Emily was obviously a classic introvert (:
I think this print is an ode to the burp Gods: FROGS. I'm so elated that you posted this because my previous manga comment to you stems from the Japanese woodblock printed history that you are displaying. The Asian Art Museum in the city is amazing. Not only the art, but the historical property they've acquired is real classical.
Emily: I think she was writing the truth and what happens in trying to communicate with others the truth.