Utagawa Toyokuni II (Toyoshige)

The courtesan Shirokawa and her two kamuro Nagisa and Yumeno of the Tamaya (Tamaya nai shirokawa nagisa yumeno)

Maker

Utagawa Toyokuni II (Toyoshige) (Japanese, 1777-1835)
Kawaguchiya Shōzō 川口屋正蔵 (Japanese, ca. 1824-1852), publisher

Title

The courtesan Shirokawa and her two kamuro Nagisa and Yumeno of the Tamaya (Tamaya nai shirokawa nagisa yumeno)
Eight views of the Yoshiwara
Yoshiwara hakkei

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1830s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink and color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan

Dimensions

Sheet: 37.9 x 26.5 cm (14 15/16 x 10 7/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signature: Toyokuni ga

Seals: Publisher's seal | Kawasho; censor's seal | kiwame

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Bequest of Isaac C. Bates

Object Number

13.1403

Type

Exhibition History

The Pleasure of Edo
Life in the Yoshiwara
Mar 24, 2000 – Jun 18, 2000

Label copy

As in Tsukasa of the Ogiya, Kunisada has borrowed the 11th-century Chinese landscape theme of the “Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers” for the structure of his series “Eight Views of the Yoshiwara.” The inset scene depicts sailing boats, a play upon the Xiao-Xiang scene of “Returning Sails Off the Distant Shore.” Instead of the mist-filled landscape of the Chinese original, the boats sail toward the Yoshiwara, in a humorous comment on the lofty character of the original Chinese subject matter and the final destination of the boats in this print.

Edo Culture II
Life in the Pleasure Quarters
Dec 16, 1994 – Mar 05, 1995
Women of the Floating World
Nov 09, 1990 – Jan 06, 1991
Courtesans of the Floating World
May 30, 1986 – Aug 30, 1986

Related Objects

Utagawa Toyokuni II (Toyoshige)

The courtesan Tsukasa and her two kamuro Agena and Kocho of the Ogiya (Ogiyanaitsukasa agena kocho: Daimonguchi no rakugan), Edo (Japanese period)

More objects +

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Utagawa Toyokuni II (Toyoshige) (Japanese, 1777-1835)
Kawaguchiya Shōzō 川口屋正蔵 (Japanese, ca. 1824-1852), publisher
The courtesan Shirokawa and her two kamuro Nagisa and Yumeno of the Tamaya (Tamaya nai shirokawa nagisa yumeno); Eight views of the Yoshiwara; Yoshiwara hakkei, 1830s
Polychrome woodblock print
Sheet: 37.9 x 26.5 cm (14 15/16 x 10 7/16 inches)
Bequest of Isaac C. Bates 13.1403

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.