OBJECT LABELS
CONTEMPLATIVE SPACE
SECTION 4 SECTION 3
SECTION 1
SECTION 2
PLAN OF THE GALLERY SECTION 1
Travel
Utagawa Toyokuni I The peak of Mt Fuji and procession of beauties around 1810
Women and children walk in what’s probably a wedding procession for a princess. Two women leading carry trunks covered with the character kotobuki (“happiness”). The inscription at top right reads “a procession of beauties with Fuji-foreheads”. Fuji-forehead refers to a graceful hairline shaped like Mount Fuji. This used to be a symbol of beauty.
Cat. 1
Katsushika Hokusai Shinagawa 1801–04
This location overlooking Edo Bay was a popular spot for viewing the moon. This is Shinagawa, first post town on the Tōkaidō out of Edo City. The woman on the bench wears an agebōshi (cloth headgear to protect the hair from dirt and dust); an ox rests from pulling a cart. While travelling, heavy luggage could be deposited with handlers who would transport it via ox carts.
Cat. 2
Katsushika Hokusai Fuji view plain in Owari province Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji around 1831
Hokusai searched for subjects that would produce an unusual effect when combined with the image of Mt Fuji. This print is one of his most iconic works in the series, which depicts the mountain from various locations in Japan.
Owari is one of the western-most places from which Fuji is visible. The great symbol of eternity is amusingly reduced to a tiny triangle set within a large bottomless barrel. By framing Fuji like this, Hokusai creates an intimate dialogue between the iconic mountain and the sinewy man. The juxtaposition lends grandeur to his honest labour and existence.
Cat. 3
Utagawa Hiroshige Seto River Shank’s Mare on the Tōkaidō Road late 1830s
This print is based on the comic novel Shank’s Mare, published in serial format (1802–09). The story follows Yajirobē and Kitahachi on a journey of adventure and misadventure along the Tōkaidō. The novel was a phenomenal success and is credited with promoting the love of travel during the Edo period.
Here they are at the Seto River, near Fujieda. During low tide, travellers could cross the river on foot or even hire porters to carry them across in a palanquin. Kitahachi falling in the river is not an episode in the book, so Hiroshige must have invented it.
Cat. 6
Utagawa Hiroshige Fukuroi: Tea stall Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road around 1833
A simple stand sells tea on the outskirts of town at Fukuroi (Shizuoka Prefecture), 27th station on the Tōkaidō. To highlight its non-central location, Hiroshige added a boundary marker beside the stall and an official notice board opposite.
The smoke from the fire was created with a technique called karazuri (“empty printing” or gauffrage), in which a carved woodblock is applied without pigment, so it embosses into the paper, but does not colour it.
Cat. 10 Utagawa Hiroshige Yoshida: The Toyokawa River Bridge Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road around 1833
This print shows Yoshida, 34th station of the Tōkaidō. On the right is Yoshida Castle, with construction work in progress. The bridge, spanning 218 metres, was one of three great bridges along the Tōkaidō.
Cat. 11
Utagawa Hiroshige View of Ōi River Collection of Rivers on the Tōkaidō Road around 1851
Different modes of ferrying services over the Ōi River can be seen in this print. A daimyō in his palanquin is ferried across by many bearers. All the women seem to be wearing dustcoats over their kimono, perhaps to prevent it from getting wet.
Cat. 16
Utagawa Hiroshige Hot spring by the river in Hakone Collection of Rivers on the Tōkaidō Road around 1851
On the left, a woman carries her yukata (light kimono worn in summer or as a bathrobe), preparing to head to the hot spring. The woman on the right wears her yukata; she seems to have just finished her bath.
In the early Edo period, people went to Hakone’s hot springs for its healing properties. Later it became a popular attraction, and even today, Hakone draws local and international tourists. In Hiroshige’s Travel Journal of Famous Spots, he mentions that he enjoyed his visit and time in the hot springs of Hakone.
Cat. 17 Beauty
Kitagawa Utamaro Hair dressing Scenery of Famous Places and Twelve Aspects of Beauties around 1801–03
The woman helping the younger one has a marumage hairstyle, common for married women. Some married women blackening their teeth; and after delivering a child, would shave their eyebrows. The older woman here has eyebrows, and her teeth are not blackened. Perhaps Utamaro was trying to emphasise the beauty of her youthfulness.
Utamaro was the premier designer of bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). His way of drawing the female face and form became a new style and had an iconic impact. celebrate both real and idealised women. At first bijin-ga featured high-ranking courtesans, but soon included historic figures, geisha, fictional characters, notable townswomen, and other everyday women.
Cat. 20
Torii Kiyomine Boys Festival Elegant Five-Needled Pine 1804–18
We know this woman is a mother because her eyebrows are shaved, and her teeth are blackened. During the Edo period, white powder was applied not only to the face, but also on the neck and across the chest.
Cat. 22
Utagawa Kuninao Summer around 1810
The character at the top, “summer”, hints this was part of a series depicting activities of the four seasons. Perhaps the artist was trying to draw attention to the beauty of the nape of the woman’s neck in the mirror’s reflection. Edo people often made use of the public bathhouses. But it took a long time to wash away oil commonly applied to hair, so sometimes hair washing was done in the garden. In early Edo, one washed hair only several times a year; by the mid-Edo period, it increased to once or twice per month.
Cat. 24
Woman applying rouge to her lips Woman blackening her teeth Woman tweezing her eyebrows
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Mirrors of Modern Make-up early 1820s
This series, with striking framing device of the mirror, is one of the most representative works of Kunisada. All three women wear tortoiseshell combs and hairpins. One tidies the rouge on her lips. Another is blackening her teeth. Her eyebrows are not shaved, which suggests that she is married but has not yet given birth. The other plucks her eyebrows. Her hair is set in the shimada-mage style and decorated with even more precious tortoiseshell combs and hairpins. This suggests she could be a high-ranked courtesan.
Cats. 28, 29, 30
Keisai Eisen In front of a mirror: Woman dressing her hair around 1820
This woman is probably a courtesan, the young man likely her client. As his head is only partially shaven, he is a wakashū. He has not yet received his coming-of-age ceremony that marked the transition to adulthood. This print is in the genre of abuna-e (“risky pictures”) – alluring, but no explicit sex.
Keisai Eisen specialised in bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) that portray the figures as more worldly than those by earlier artists, replacing their grace and elegance with an understated sensuality.
Cat. 33 Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Parody of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Actors Ichikawa Ichizō III, Nakamura Shikan IV, and Kawarazaki Gonjūrō I 1860
This triptych shows a kabuki parody of a scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Chinese novels were popular in Edo and frequently adapted into Japanese settings.
Like courtesans and geisha, kabuki actors were also fashionistas and celebrities during the Edo period. With their flamboyant costumes and dramatic make-up for the roles they played, they captured the imagination of Edo people.
Cat. 36
Cats
Suzuki Harunobu Evening snow on the nurioke around 1767–68
In this print, Suzuki Harunobu is making a joke. The title, “Evening snow on the nurioke” (Nurioke no bosetsu), plays on “River and Sky in Evening snow” (Kōten bosetsu), a famous Japanese landscape painting that pays tribute to earlier Chinese paintings. This print belongs to the genre of mitate-e – parody pictures.
Harunobu has replaced the natural scenery with a domestic scene. The woman smokes a pipe while pulling a bale of silk floss over a black lacquered stretcher tub called a nurioke. The white silk is likened to the snow of the original landscape print.
To note further insider knowledge, the occupation of watatsumi – cotton or silk floss puller – had grey connotations in Edo society: some of these women also provided sexual services. The cat sleeping beside the woman is probably a domestic pet, because it wears a collar.
Cat. 38 Utagawa Hiroshige Asakusa ricefields and Torinomachi Festival One Hundred Famous Views of Edo 1857
Hiroshige here presents the Yoshiwara pleasure quarter during the Torinomachi Festival, busiest day of the year. From the window of a brothel, however, the noise and activity must seem far away to this cat. In the distance, a festival procession is crossing the Asakusa ricefields. A courtesan’s things are casually arrayed in the room.
The cat is probably a pet kept by the courtesan. Perhaps Hiroshige is trying to show us the feelings of a courtesan through the cat.
Cat. 40
Utagawa Toyokuni I Actors Iwai Hanshirō V as Dote no Oroku and Aburaya Osome, and Matsumoto Koshiro V as Kimon no Kihei 1813
This print for a fan is based on a kabuki play about the love between Osome, daughter of an oil seller, and Hisamatsu, a young apprentice in the shop. Iwai Hanshirō V, a famous onnagata (actor who specialises in female roles), performed Osome – and six other characters! This play is commonly referred to as “seven roles of Osome”.
Osome is in the red circle, in fine kimono and well-adorned headdress, holding a pet cat. The inscriptions are dialogue of the characters, who are husband and wife. The play is powerfully written and depicts the lives of the lowest class of commoners in Edo City with great realism. The fan was probably a souvenir of the play.
Cat. 41 Keisai Eisen Young woman holding a cat around 1843–46
This tall image, composed of two ōban size papers, was probably meant as a kakemono-e (hanging picture), like a scroll painting. The women, probably daughter of a wealthy merchant, wears a fine kimono with maple leaf design and an elaborate headdress. The combination of cats and butterflies in paintings is an auspicious sign for longevity.
Cat. 42
Keisai Eisen Courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel 1830–44
There’s a cat motif on this woman’s obi (broad sash worn at the waist). A cat and butterflies together signify longevity. The pair alludes to the term bōtetsu in Japanese – old age. The women who famously wore this boldly designed obi at the front is the courtesan Hanaōgi of the Ōgiya Brothel.
The inscription on the right: “By now you must be near Komakata/a cuckoo calls”, is a farewell poem by Takao, another famous courtesan of Yoshiwara, bidding farewell to her lover.
Cat. 43
Utagawa Kunimaru Women in summer around 1811–14
A cat escapes under the mosquito net in this print. Its collar, with a bell, suggests it is a household pet. The woman at left is brushing her teeth. On the right, the woman under mosquito netting wakes up with her hair frayed and chest slightly bared.
Cat. 44 Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Tub and element metal/Brazier and element fire Characters of Women Influenced by Five Elements early 1820s
In ancient Chinese tradition, all phenomena of the universe could be explained by interactions of the Five Elements. Japan was influenced by Chinese philosophies and adapted these traditions. The Five Elements are wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
This print is of the genre abuna-e (“risky pictures”, suggestive, but without explicit sex). The black obi in the foreground probably belongs to the woman; the colourful one in the background perhaps to her husband or partner.
A kotatsu (low table frame covered by a futon) is behind the woman. Underneath would be a heat source – a charcoal brazier, built into the table itself. A calico cat, perhaps seeking a warmer space, is trying to get into the kotatsu.
Cat. 45
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Blackening teeth and element metal/Gargling and element water Characters of Women Influenced by Five Elements early 1820s
Here, a calico cat pulls and licks at the hem of the kimono, revealing the woman’s ankle. The metal element here is signified by the blackened teeth. The main ingredient was a solution called kanemizu, iron filings dissolved in vinegar. When combined with vegetable tannins from tea powder, for instance, it would turn black and become non-water soluble. Coating the teeth with this liquid was thought to prevent decay. The dye was applied once a day or once every few days. The water element in the smaller image is represented by the bowl of water used for gargling.
Cat. 46 Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Sean of Horikawa Humorous Matching Pictures late 1820s
This series connects two seemingly unrelated pictures. Viewers in the know would connect them. The Japanese title is Horikawa no dan, which is a scene from the kabuki play. The play centres around Oshun, a beautiful courtesan in Gion; Denbē, Oshun’s lover; and Yojirō, Oshun’s brother, a monkey trainer. Yojirō is in the upper image. The woman is probably Yojirō’s sister, the beautiful courtesan. The cat arching its back perhaps suggests the misfortune that she will experience in the play.
Cat. 47
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III The Tenth Month Elegant Twelve Months late 1820s
Each print in this series depicts a beautiful woman playing with a child. The Japanese title of this print is Koharu (late summer), which happens in the tenth month of the lunar calendar. At the top right is a sculpture of Ebisu, Japanese god of fishermen, luck, and wealth. Offerings have been placed before him. During the Edo period, 20 October was the date of a festival dedicated to Ebisu.
The mother’s kimono is decorated with repeated bat designs, symbolising fortune and good luck. The child’s kimono has a popular checkered design – squares filled with a sickle (kama), a circle (maruiwa), and the Japanese hiragana character nu ぬ. This can be read as kama-wa-nu (“I don’t care”).
Cat. 48
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Woman playing with a cat Fabrics to Order in Current Taste around 1844
In this print, a woman lifts a cat as though it were a child. As the title of the series suggests, each print shows fabrics then currently in fashion. The woman’s kimono has auspicious designs, including the repeated rippling waves and paired mandarin ducks in the gray-green areas of her obi.
Cat. 49
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Amusement for precious children: Imitating Ebisu and Jurojin around 1842
In this print two children amuse themselves by imitating Ebisu and Jurōjin, two of the Seven Gods of Fortune. The child standing plays Ebisu, god of prosperity and wealth and patron of fishermen. He holds Ebisu’s attributes – a fishing rod and a carp. The seated child plays Jurōjin, god of longevity. The long cloth headdress mimics the elongated head of Jurōjin. Instead of a deer, Jurōjin’s usual animal attribute, the seated child is cuddling a white cat.
Cat. 60
Utagawa Kunisada II Courtesan in Matsui-cho A Collection of Modern Beauties 1855
This is a scene in a hikite-chaya – teahouse where a courtesan meets her guests. He would first be escorted to a reception room for food and performances by geisha. A peek through the sliding door shows the back of a folding screen. A male kimono, probably of the guest, is draped over the screen.
Cat. 64
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Amusement of the first snowfall around 1847–50
Women construct a snow cat as a young prince and his attendants look on. This is a scene from False Murasaki’s Rural Genji, parody of the Tale of Genji.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi is mostly remembered for his portrayals of samurai and legendary heroes, but he also drew many landscapes and beautiful women. And he was a cat lover who often draw them in his prints.
Cat. 51
Utagawa Kuniyoshi x Utagawa Torijo/Yoshitorijo Wanting to pull down the back collar of kimono to show her nape: Eel from the Sunomata River in Tōtōmi province Auspicious Desires on Land and Sea 1852
This series introduces scenery and famous products of places across Japan, combined with bijin-ga, pictures of beautiful women. The top image was drawn by Utagawa Torijo (aka Yoshitorijo), daughter of Kuniyoshi, who drew the woman. Men carry baskets of what look like large hard clams. An inscription refers to famous eel from Sunomata River.
The nape of a woman’s neck was considered sensual. A collar that revealed the nape was a fashionable sign of beauty. But if it pulled too low, it showed a lack of class; if fitted too close to the neck, then it was not stylish. White powder was applied to the face, and round the neck and onto the shoulders to enhance the beauty of the nape of the neck. The images pun on the sound of the words, unagi (eel) and unaji (nape).
Cat. 54
Utagawa Hiroshige II French woman, her child, and pet dog 1860
The French woman here is wearing a crinoline to hold out her skirt, the fabric of which seems to be a type of printed chintz.
In 1858, the port of Yokohama was opened to the foreigners for trade. Within Yokohama, there were foreign quarters where Americans, Dutch, Russians, English, French, and Chinese lived. Japanese people were curious about these foreigners, and they soon became a source of inspiration for ukiyo artists. Artists like Hiroshige II depicted them and their ways of living, which were much different from those of the local Japanese.
Cat. 76 Utagawa Hiroshige Peeping into the bath/Boys fighting Hiroshige’s Comic Prints early 1840s
In the upper image, two men peep into a bath house. Overly excited, one man has spilled his sake; a stray dog escapes with a piece of octopus. Below two boys fight in the street. Their belongings are scavenged by wild animals. The dog is biting on katsuo (skipjack tuna) and the birds are picking on abura-age (fried tofu).
Cat. 75
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Poem by Suō no Naishi: Shirai Gonpachi Ogura Imitations of One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets around 1846
A ronin is surprised by a dog while reading a letter. (A ronin is a wandering samurai, not or no longer affliated with any daimyo.) This is the character Shira Gonpachi from a kabuki play. Gonpachi fled to Edo after committing a murder. He was caught and sentenced to death. His distraught lover, a courtesan committed suicide at his grave.
Each print in the series compares an image from the play with a poem. The inset here shows female poet Suō no Naishi (1037–1109) and her poem: “On a spring night/I laid my head on his arm/although it’s just a one-night dream/it’s a shame to hear/people whispering behind their fans”.
Cat. 72
Dogs
Utagawa Kunimaru Woman holding a Pekinese dog 1818–30
The woman here holds a Japanese Chin. These popular dogs were thought to have been brought into Japan from China during the Nara period (710– 94). The woman is probably a courtesan. Her hair is adorned with luxurious tortoiseshell hairpins and combs. Her lips are applied with sasabeni, a branded, bright red type of lip application.
Cat. 68
Utagawa Toyokuni I Hydrangeas Six Selected Flowers around 1810
The title of the series, Imayau Rokkasen (Six Selected Flowers), is a play on Rokkasen (Six Poetry Immortals), describing six Japanese poets of the mid-9th century. Toyokuni I picked six types of popular flowers and paired each with a beautiful woman. Here, the women carrying her pet dog is surrounded by hydrangea. The little dog is probably a short-haired Japanese Chin.
Cat. 67 SECTION 2
Goldfish
Isoda Koryūsai Shirotae of the Ōkanaya Brothel Models for Fashion: New Year Designs as Fresh as Young Leaves mid-1770s
Kingyosodategusa (On keeping goldfish, 1748) was a pioneer publication for promoting the breeding and care of goldfish. The author noted that goldfish were brought into Japan around 1502. By the time of this print, goldfish were popular pets. A group of courtesans admires goldfish in a pool with plants and shells (?) that recreate a natural environment.
The artist, Koryūsai, was a samurai who began drawing for ukiyo-e after he lost his feudal masters. From 1768, while his friend and role-model Suzuki Harunobu was still alive, he called himself Haruhiro.
Cat. 77
Kitagawa Hidemaro Young couple with goldfish 1804–18
The wakashū (young male) here holds a kingyodama, a glass container for admiring goldfish. Also called bīdoro (from the Portuguese vidro), these bowls were first made in Nagasaki or Osaka. By 1750, there were glass workshops in Edo. Wakashū wore this distinctive hairstyle until they came of age.
Cat. 79 Utagawa Kuniyasu Goldfish Elegant Amusements for Girls around 1811–44
Keisai Eisen Young woman holding a goldfish bowl 1830–44
A beautiful woman holding a glass kingyodama admiring the goldfish within was a favourite subject for many ukiyo artists.
Cats. 81, 82
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Modern version of Tales of Ise 1849
This triptych is a re-telling of Tales of Ise, a collection of traditional poems and stories from the Heian period (794–1185). The plot is the life story of a man (in the middle here) believed to be Ariwara no Narihira, a prominent Heian period poet. It tells of his forbidden love affairs, with Princess Takaiko, who later became an empress, and Princess Yasuko, who served at the Ise Jingu Shrine, and his journey to the east after leaving the capital, Heian (today’s Kyoto).
The bird above Narihari is probably a parrot imported by European merchants. On the right, is a large fish tank. It is unlikely that such large panels of glass were produced in the Edo period. So this was either imported or from the imagination of the artist.
Cat. 84 Utagawa Kuniyoshi The Seventh Month 1849
The seventh month in the lunar calendar falls between late July and early September and signifies the arrival of autumn. By the riverside, there are faint lights from fireflies, and silhouettes of autumn flowers like Japanese clover and bellflower.
The ceiling is hung with a large kingyodama (glass goldfish container) decorated with colourful hanging tassels. It is unlikely that such large glass containers were produced in the Edo period; this is probably the artist’s fantasy.
Cat. 85
Utagawa Kunisada II The Fifth Month The Five Festivals Represented by Eastern Genji 1855
The 5th day of the 5th month was Tango no sekku, also celebrated as the Iris festival. It marked the beginning of summer and the rainy season. Ashikaga Mitsuuji, of False Murasaki’s Rural Genji, and a child admire goldfish in a porcelain fishbowl. The child wears a protective headband thought to ward off evil and illness. On the wall in the middle is a kusudama, a bouquet of irises and herbs meant to ward off evil spirits. On the floor is a hand-operated fan, comprised of six uchiwa fans.
Cat. 92
Utagawa Sadahide Courtesan Azumaji of the Kadoebiya Brothel early 1840s
Here, the famous courtesan Azumaji and a child look into a small fishpond. The Kadoebiya brothel in Yoshiwara attracted ukiyo artists; they depicted several famous courtesans from the house.
Cat. 90 Other animals
Utagawa Yoshitoyo Giant elephant imported from overseas 1862
In 1863, an Indian elephant on show brought crowds to an area near the Ryōgoku Bridge in Edo City. The artist Yoshitoyo produced several prints of this elephant, as well as other exotic animals. To many people in Japan, it was their first chance to catch a glimpse of a live elephant.
Cat. 101
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III The Third Month Five Festivals early 1830s
A group of women board a ferry on the Sumida River. The torii gate behind suggests it is near the Mimeguri-inari shrine. An important shrine for rain and agriculture mentioned in Guide to Famous Edo Sites, it is also famous for its beautiful gardens in spring. The women are probably returning from viewing the spring flowers.
At the left, a female trainer (sarumawashi) and her monkey sit in the ferry. The tradition of sarumawashi began as early as the Kamakura period (1185– 1333). By the Edo, it was a mainstream performing art, particularly during the New Year and other festival occasions.
Cat. 93
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Falconer early 1830s
Here, a youth (wakashū) of the samurai class holding a falcon. Falconry, hunting with birds of prey, was a popular pastime for samurai. The format suggests this was meant to be used as a hanging scroll. Falconer pictures like this became popular motifs for ōtsu pictures, small artworks sold as good-luck charms to travellers passing through the town of Ōtsu, last stop on the Tōkaido before Kyoto. Falconer ōtsu pictures were believed to be good luck charms for people seeking to recover lost items.
Cat. 94
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Okane of Ōmi province Suikoden of Japanese Heroes around 1844–45
This woman is Okane – according to legends, either a famous courtesan or a cloth-bleaching girl – noted for her incredible strength. Here she nonchalantly subdues the wild horse with one hand while holding her clothes under her other arm. She is biting on a nugabukuro (rice-bran bag) used for scrubbing the skin when bathing, and a towel hangs on her shoulder. Her hair is a little loose. All this suggests she has just finished her bath.
In Edo society, horses were important to the samurai, who used them as military cavalry; they were a general means of transport; and they worked on farms. At shrines, they were taken care of as shinme (scared horses).
Cat. 98
Utagawa Yoshimori Russian on horse Five Nations 1860
This man wears a hat with the symbolic double-headed eagle of the Russian Empire. At the top right is an image of a Russian ship. The inscription under the horse reads: “14,300 ri from Yokohama”. This is about 56,000 kilometres, drastically different from modern-day calculations (only about 7,600 km), but probably the distance between Saint Petersburg, then capital of Russia, and Yokohama.
Cat. 99 SECTION 3
Soul food
Katsushika Hokusai Fujieda: Yellow rice dyed with gardenia Spring Enjoyment of Fifty-three Stations 1804
Between Fujieda and Shimada along the Tōkaidō was Seto village, famous for dyed rice (someī). Steamed glutinous rice was mixed with gardenia, which coloured it yellow. It was then mashed, spread into an oval, and dried. (When this print was made, the rice disks would have been yellow, but now are faded.)
The red fruits on the table are gardenia. Gardenia is often used in traditional Chinese medicine. It was popular among travellers as it was thought to “drain fire”: it is anti-inflammatory and reduces fever.
Cat. 106
Katsushika Hokusai Ishiyakushi: Eel shop/Akasaka: Noodle shop Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road: Picture Book of Courier’s Bell around 1810
One print (left) depicts Ishiyakushi, 44th stop on the Tōkaidō. Two travellers look at a teahouse with a lantern inscribed unagi (eel).
The other print (right) shows Akasaka, 36th stop. A man and woman take a break at a teahouse. The signboard advertises udon (thick wheat-flour noodles), thought to have arrived in Japan from China during the Nara period (710–94). By the Edo, the dish had evolved into the thick noodles we know today.
Cat. 107a, b Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III The Tenth Month: Streetwalkers in the First Snowfall around 1815–18
The theme here is Kannazuki – October. A sudden snowfall has women crowding around a peddler’s stall for a bowl of hot soba. The title plays on the word yokata (“nighthawk”), used for streetwalkers in Kansai region. And Yokata soba refers to soba peddlers who operate at night.
At the right, three women approach the stall; two are barefoot. At left, a woman returns an empty bowl and a man fixes a clog for one of the women.
Cat. 110
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Tomoe Gozen and her son Asahina Yoshihide eating a confection Biographies of Famous Women, Ancient and Modern 1859
A mother has fed her child sweets to keep him still while she shaves his head. “Yakko atama” is the hairstyle, common for Edo children – shaved all-round, with some left at the sides and back. The child is eating bōlo, a Portuguese sweet made of flour, eggs, milk, and sugar. Portuguese sweets arrived in Japan at the end of Muromachi period (1338–1573).
More specifically, the woman and child are supposed to be Tomoe Gozen (1157–1247), a famous female warrior, and her son Asahina Yoshihide. Both are extremely popular in literature and kabuki plays, as they were said to possess superhuman traits.
Cat. 114
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Flower viewing party: Grilled tofu with miso glaze around 1820
These women are preparing for a spring feast in a garden. The two wearing headcloths are making grilled tofu with miso glaze, the other holds a black box for the dish. The blue-and-white jar probably contains miso paste mixed with sugar and mirin. By the mid-Edo period, Matsusaki Inari, a famous teahouse from Kyoto, had branches specialising in grilled tofu on the Sumida River in Edo City.
Cat. 111
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Waitress, View of the Eitaibashi Bridge Modern Tie-dyed Fabrics of Edo around 1833–35
A waitress delivers food in a ryōri-ya, a luxury restaurant that serves kaiseki ryōri (traditional Japanese multi-course haute cuisine). Some were multi-storey with reception rooms and gardens. Ryōri-ya were more than just places for a quick meal. They also served as a place for scholars to gather and discuss paintings, calligraphy, haiku, and engage in comical storytelling.
Cat. 124
Utagawa Hiroshige Mariko: Famous tea shop Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road 1853
This teahouse at Mariko, 20th stop along the Tōkaidō, offered more than tea. The white signboard advertises their meibutsu (speciality) – tororo- jiru, a soup made from grated mountain yam. It was immortalised in a haiku by Matsuo Bashō: “Plum blossoms and fresh leaves/the yam soup at the lodging/at Mariko station”. Likewise, Mariko and its speciality are mentioned in the comic travel novel Shank’s Mare.
Though Mariko is just a simple hut on the road, Hiroshige’s keen sense of composition brings alive the two travellers, happily eating while a serving woman with a baby sleeping on her back waits on them. Other types of food on the signboards include ochazuke (green tea or broth over cooked rice) and sake-sakana (Japanese rice wine and fish).
Cat. 118 Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Dance performance at the New Year party 1854
At New Year, kabuki actors (including teachers and students) traditionally gathered to celebrate and perform. In August 1854, promising young actor Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII committed suicide. It was shocking news to the kabuki world. This print from that time shows actors celebrating the New Year with drinks, music, and dance – hoping for a better year ahead.
Celebratory cuisine included red sea bream, long eaten in Japan to bring good luck. Its status as a celebration dish is supported by the fact that word tai (sea bream) rhymes with medetai (happy). It was the custom to serve a whole red sea bream grilled with salt, as depicted here.
Cat. 113
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Candy vendors: Actors Segawa Kikunojō V as Omura and Ichikawa Danjurō VII as Naritaya Shichibei 1819
This candy vendor and his wife are characters from a kabuki play. Balls of sweets sit in the round bucket, and bags for them hang above.
The candy-vendor character was inspired by a real vendor in the mid-Edo period. He and his red and white chitose ame candy became very popular. Some claim he began the tradition of kids eating chitose candy during Shichi-Go-San, traditional rite of passage and festival day for 3-, 5-, and 7-year-old children, held on 15 November.
Cat. 127
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Sawarabi: Masaoka and her son Senmatsu eating poisoned confections Genji Clouds Matched with Ukiyo-e Pictures around 1846
This is a scene from a play based on an actual event, the Date Sōdō (1671). Masaoka, wet nurse to a young clan heir, works to protect him from rebellious retainers. She has a son of her own, who mistakenly eats a poisoned sweet intended for the heir. Her son is then killed to hide the evidence of the poisoning.
The sweets he eats here are an expensive hard candy (aruheito). Sweets like this came into Nagasaki from Portugal in the 16th century. The long thin sweet at his mouth resembles the vegetable warabi (bracken fern).
Cat. 123
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Soba noodle of Shinano province Collection of Famous Products of Land and Sea around 1831–32
Here, travellers along the Kisokaidō (aka Nakasendō) move past Mt Asama. The teahouse signboard reads: “Famous product Shinshū Two-Six”. Shinshū was famous for its soba.
Two-six (ni roku) refers to the price of the soba; so one serving was 12 mon (2 x 6 – today approx. 198 yen, $2.50 SGD). Usual price was ni hachi (two- eight), 16 mon. Later, prices inflated to 20–24 mon. Ni hachi is also the ratio for making soba: 2 parts wheat flour x 8 parts buckwheat flour. Even today, many soba noodle makers keep to this traditional recipe.
Cat. 125
Utagawa Hiroshige Bush warbler rice cakes: Characters from plays as merchants and customers Flourishing Business in Balladtown 1852
All the figures here are associated with kabuki plays. In the upper right, a woman sells uguisumochi (sweet treat) to a young man. This scene is based on a kabuki play in which the main character saves a bush warbler (uguisu). The uguisu is not depicted here, but is replaced by the uguisumochi, which sounds like the name of the bird. At the top, a bird picks away at a piece of fish meat and a fishmonger hides his knife at his back. This scene is based on another play about a fishmonger Danshichi, newly released from prison. He soon gets in trouble again when he rushes to a woman’s rescue and inadvertently kills his own father-in-law. The man with the knife represents Danshichi in his iconic pose and the older man behind him, holding a large dish, with fish meat fallen to the ground is Giheiji.
Cat. 120
Utagawa Hiroshige Grilled eel: Characters from plays as merchants and customers Flourishing Business in Balladtown 1852
The people here are based on puppet theatre and kabuki characters. The stone signpost at the centre reads: “grilled eel from Setamae”. Seta was a famous eel producing area. The eel sellers are from a play that tells of a husband and wife who pay a visit to his teacher. They bring eel from Seta as gifts. The stone pillar depicted at their store is part of a crucial turning point in the play.
To the right of the eel store, a man sells Ishikawa’s fried food. He can be connected to another well-known kabuki character, Ishikawa Goemon, legendary outlaw hero who stole from the rich to give to the poor. The pot of hot oil for frying is related to his story.
Cat. 119
Utagawa Yoshitoyo American men at the tea house 1860
In this print, an American sailor lights the pipe of his countryman, an ambassador. Yokohama was opened as a treaty port in 1859 and soon after, the Miyozaki red-light district was established, populated with expensive brothels and teahouses for foreigners.
Cat. 129 Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Looks delicious: Appearance of a courtesan in the Kaei period Thirty-Two Aspects of Women 1888
“Looks delicious” is probably meant to describe both the courtesan and the tempura she eats. In Edo, common tempura dishes included tai (sea bream), anago (salt-water eel), shiba-ebi (tiger prawn), kohana (dotted gizzard shad), and kaibashi (shellfish). Sesame oil was preferred for deep frying these ingredients.
Cat. 104
Gardens
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Kannon Temple, Asakusa: Sponge gourds Mirror of Fine Views early 1820s
The prints in this series by Kunisada combine a beautiful woman and a view of a famous spot in Edo City. Here, the inset image is inscribed “Kannon” (Bodhisattva of Compassion) and shows a view of the Sensō-ji Kannon Temple at Asakusa. The composition uses linear perspective, an influence from Western art. The main figure hangs laundry beside a garden box with a large sponge gourd ripening.
Cat. 134
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Plum-blossom viewing party on a spring evening around 1849–51
The lavishly dressed women here are gathered to view plum blossoms. Under a plum-blossom tree, the garden is filled with flowers and plants, including Japanese camellia and narcissus behind the green fencing. The rack at right holds an array of potted plants and flowers, such as plum- blossom (ume), nandina, five-needle pine, whisk fern, and pheasant’s eye, all in blue-and-white porcelain pots. The party and associated flowers and plants suggest this gathering is to welcome the arrival of spring. On the floor, the women sit amidst an array of luxury items – black-and-gold lacquered boxes, candle stands, and sake drinking vessels.
Cat. 133
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Actors (from right) Ichimura Takenojō V as Wakatake no Kame, Bandō Shūka I as Yamatoya Osen, and Ichikawa Danjūrō VIII as Takinobori no Kichi 1851
This triptych depicts three kabuki actors in character for a play about a flower peddler. Cultivating morning glory (asagao), seen on the pyramidal stands here, was popular during the Edo period. The trend was to combine species of morning glory with other flowers and plants, hoping to create new variations. Many publications with illustrations and methods of cultivation were produced, and exhibitions on rarer new species were held. The price of morning glory seedlings soared.
Cat. 136
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Earth: Tokonatsu Comparisons for the Five Elements around 1851–52
This print is based on False Murasaki’s Rural Genji, parody of the Tale of Genji. The parody, by Ryūtei Tanehiko (1783–1842), with illustrations by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, was published in a woodblock print edition. It was the best-selling example of the genre known as gōkan, a literary form merging images with text.
With the popularity of the graphic novel, Kuniyoshi produced a series of prints. This one shows the rural “Genji” at the right; the woman on the left is Tamakazura, a girl he adopts in the story.
Carnations (nadeshiko) are in blue-and-white porcelain pots. Based on the glaze and design, the pots are probably from Seto. These wares were extremely popular during the Edo period.
Cat. 138 SECTION 4
Seasonal Festivals
Utagawa Kuniyoshi Cherry blossoms at Tsukiji Honganji Temple 1853
Tsukiji Honganji Temple was near today’s Tsukiji area of Tokyo. The temple was a famous spot to view cherry blossoms.
Today, most cherry blossom trees we see are the Yoshino cherry type, one of the most popular and widely planted worldwide since the Meiji period (1868–1912). During Edo, however, the popular cherries were yae-zakura (double-layered blossom), bigan-sakura, and yama-sakura (hill cherry, wild mountain variety). Depending on the type of tree, the season for viewing cherry blossoms is late March through the end of April.
Cat. 142
Utagawa Kunisada, aka Toyokuni III Enjoying the Doll Festival 1861
The Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri), celebrating young girls of a household, takes place on the 3rd day of the 3rd month, when flowering peach trees (momo – think the girl in Twice) are in bloom. Peach blossoms are thought to ward off evil and bring good fortune to young girls.
Hinamatsuri was celebrated with a display of dolls in the home. Sake for adults and a sweet, alcohol-free version called amazake for children, along with sushi, flavoured crackers, a salty clam-based soup, and mochi were traditional dishes of the festival. Candy dolls and other confections were also popular. Today, the manufacturing of these figurines remains a thriving example of traditional Japanese craftwork.
Cat. 144 Yōshū Chikanobu Boys Festival Sands of Edo 1885
Boys Festival – Tango no Sekku – was one of five annual festivals during the Edo period. Today this festival is Children’s Day, a national holiday celebrating the happiness of all children and expressing gratitude towards mothers.
Boys Festival marked the beginning of summer, and on this day iris and artemisia leaves were hung in doorways to protect homes from evil spirits. People also eat rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves, and parents of boys displayed armour (as seen on the right print), and carp streamers were hung on the roofs of houses, indicating how many children lived there.
Cat. 145
Paintings
Nikuhitsuga – painting in the ukiyo-e print style – is done with a brush and coloured ink on paper or silk. Most works in the genre were produced by artists who also designed drawings for woodblock prints. Today the term is broadly applied to brush-drawn genre paintings of the late 16th and early 17th century. It also describes modern works by nihonga (traditional Japanese painting) artists of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Motohiro Beauty and cat 1830–44 Ink and colour on paper scroll
Cat. 148
Kikukawa Eizan Baby girl holding a dog around 1810 Ink and colour on paper scroll
Cat. 155 Mihata Jyōryū Beauty under Cherry Blossoms 1820–1844 Ink and colour on silk scroll
Cat. 152
Mihata Jyōryū Beauty and dog 1830–44 Ink and colour on silk scroll
Cat. 149 CONTEMPLATIVE SPACE
Utagawa Hiroshige Nihonbashi: Morning scene Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō Road around 1833
The delicate dawn sky rendered with clouds in pale colours and the bold composition generate a dramatic atmosphere announcing the start of a long journey.
Nihonbashi was the starting point of the approximately 483-km journey from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto on the Tōkaidō. A daimyo’s procession begins its long journey out of the city. Fishmongers carry fresh fish from the market on the north riverbank into the city. Nihonbashi was one of the busiest areas in Edo City.
Cat. 8