UTAGAWA HIROSHIGE (1797-1858)

A shishi waits for her cub to ascent a steep cliff. In the mythology of the shishi, mothers are said to throw their four day old cubs off a precipitous cliff and then wait for them to reascend. If the cub successfully scales up the cliff once more, they prove themselves as perfected bestial entities.

For a similar impression in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, image no. C0015391, go to:
https://webarchives.tnm.jp/imgsearch/show/C0015391

For another impression in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, accession no. 21.8792, go to:
https://collections.mfa.org/objects/236409/lion-training-cub