Image

A three-part woodblock print in muted tones. Lavishly dressed women play music in a room opening onto a garden. A young man plays the flute outside the garden fence.

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿

Ushiwakamaru Serenading Princess Joruri by Flute

Description

Maker

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿 (Japanese, 1754-1806)
Wakasaya Yoichi 若狭屋与市 (Japanese, 1794 - 1846), publisher

Title

Ushiwakamaru Serenading Princess Joruri by Flute

Period

Edo (Japanese period)

Year

1790s

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

ink, color

Supports

Geography

Place Made: Japan; Place Made: Tokyo

Dimensions

Vertical ōban triptych: 38.7 x 74.6 cm (15 1/4 x 29 3/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription verso (reverse of Part C), bottom right in pencil: EGR 192

Signature: Utamaro hitsu

Seals: Censor's seal | kiwame

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.1144

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Poets, Heroes, and Courtiers
Literary and Narrative Traditions in Japanese Prints
Sep 06, 2002 – Dec 01, 2002

Label copy

Ushiwaka is the youthful name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159-1189), one of the great warrior heroes of the late Heian period (794-1185). The story of his love for Joruri is told in the fifteenth-century Tale of Joruri (Joruri monogatari). The figures in this rendition of the story, however, are dressed in Edo-period (1600-1868) costume.

Each panel of this three-part print bears the signature of Utamaro (1753-1806), but if you look carefully you can see that the signature has been tampered with. Stylistically also the print does not agree with Utamaro’s other works, thus the attribution to Eizan.

The Triptych Format in Japanese Woodblock Prints
Dec 06, 1991 – Jan 26, 1992

Related

Related

No Image Available

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿

Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) serenading Jorurihime [Lady Joruri] by flute (Ushiwakamaru jorurihime), Edo (Japanese period)
No Image Available

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿

Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) serenading Jorurihime [Lady Joruri] by flute (Ushiwakamaru jorurihime), Edo (Japanese period)
No Image Available

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿

Ushiwakamaru (Minamoto no Yoshitsune) serenading Jorurihime [Lady Joruri] by flute (Ushiwakamaru jorurihime), Edo (Japanese period)

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

Tombstone

Kitagawa Utamaro 喜多川歌麿 (Japanese, 1754-1806)
Wakasaya Yoichi 若狭屋与市 (Japanese, 1794 - 1846), publisher
Ushiwakamaru Serenading Princess Joruri by Flute, 1790s
Polychrome woodblock-printed triptych
Vertical ōban triptych: 38.7 x 74.6 cm (15 1/4 x 29 3/8 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke 20.1144

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