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There is a saying in Japan that “cranes live for one thousand years, and turtles for ten thousand.” The design of this yogi (a coverlet shaped like a kimono) thus expresses a wish for a long, healthy life.
Turtles have played an essential role in Japanese art and symbolism for centuries. Whether depicted in Ukiyo-e art, folded into origami designs, or incorporated into ikebana arrangements, turtles represent longevity, good fortune, and wisdom in Japanese culture.
Check out our japanese turtle art selection for the very best in unique or custom, handmade pieces from our prints shops.
They may be the first use of animals to satirize contemporary society, or even the ancestor of modern Japanese manga comics. The handscrolls are preserved at Kozanji, a Buddhist temple near Kyoto, and designated a National Treasure by the Japanese government.
Title: Sea Turtle (Emblem of Longevity) Artist: Attributed to Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, Tokyo (Edo) 1760–1849 Tokyo (Edo)) Period: Edo period (1615–1868) Date: 18th–19th century. Culture: Japan. Medium: Ink on paper. Dimensions: 9 7/16 x 12 3/8 in. (24 x 31.4 cm) Classification: Paintings
Bronze turtles from Japan, signed Kose, Meiji period, Honolulu Museum of Art.jpg 2,356 × 1,464; 276 KB
Working at the end of the Edo period, the ingenious and prolific print artist Kuniyoshi brings the story of actors’ likenesses to a comic culmination in his depiction of twenty-three turtles, each with the face of a famous Kabuki actor of the day, scurrying around a red lacquer sake cup.
