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Introduction

Cities, Buildings, and Rooms

Exterior and Interior Spatial Representation in Japanese Prints
January 31 - March 22, 1992

Japanese print artists used a range of techniques to represent place and space in their compositions. Before contact with Western art, interior scenes were characterized by the strong diagonal lines that were generated from axonometric-like projections of space. Later, when Japanese artists familiarized themselves with the rules of constructed perspective as used in Western drawing, single-point perspectives called uiki-e were used to represent the interiors of grand spaces such as theaters, or famous streets in the city. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the prints of artist such as Hokusai and Hiroshige showed many elements of Western influence which produced a more realisitc rendition of the buildings, streets, and interiors they inhabited. Mastery of the Western techniques of perspective and chiaroscuro, and the integration of these with Japanese tastes in subject matter, color, and composition, characterized Meiji period prints. On view is a variety of examples that demonstrate the range of techniques and conventions used to convey a sense of place in the Japanese print.

Selected Objects

Utagawa Hiroshige

The Second Block of the Miroku Licensed Quarter by the Abe River, Fuchu, 1855

Utagawa Hiroshige

Dawn inside the Yoshiwara, 1857

Japanese, Japan Tokyo

The geisha Okura and Wakamurasaki, ca. 1730's

Katsushika Hokusai

Aoigaoka Falls in the eastern capital (Toto aoigaoka no taki ), ca. 1831-1832

Utagawa Hiroshige

Bikuni Bridge in snow, 1858.10

Utagawa Hiroshige

View with dawn clouds, Nihon Bridge, 1855.7

Suzuki Harunobu

Listening to the Cricket on the Veranda (Engawa no mushikiki), ca. 1770

Shotei Hokuju

Panorama of Ryogoku [in the eastern capital] ([Toto] ryogoku fukei), early 1820's

Toyohara Chikanobu

The tea ceremony and flower arranging (Chanoyu kiribana), 1880's

Utagawa Hiroshige

The temple Ishiyakushiji, Ishikyakushi, ca.1833

Utagawa Hiroshige

The precincts of Tenman Shrine, Kameido in snow, ca. 1833

Katsushika Hokusai

Kannon Temple at Kiyo Falls, Sakanoshita on the Tokaido (Tokaido sakanoshita kiyotaki kannon), ca. 1831-1832

Katsushika Hokusai

Hanging-Cloud Bridge, Mount Gyodo, Ashikaga (Ashikaga gyodozan kumo no kakehashi), ca. 1831-1832

Katsushika Hokusai

The temple Honganji, Asakusa, in the eastern capital (Toto asakusa honganji), ca. 1829-1833

Okumura Masanobu

Scene from the jōruri play Momochidori musume Dōjōji at Nakamura-za theater, ca. 1744

More objects +

RISD Museum

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