PUPPIES IN THE SNOW by Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)
Edo Period (1615-1868) focused on scenes from daily life.

These three puppies in the snow appear on one of the panels in a pair of Japanese screens. Each of the panels represents a month of the year; the puppies are from the twelfth panel and are symbolic of December.

Hokusai depicted the puppies huddled playfully under a wooden tub that is propped up by a stick. The rope attached to the stick indicates that the tub probably was intended as a rustic trap for birds or animals. Snow laden camellias hang above the tub, while tiny paw prints are faintly visible in the foreground.