楊洲周延画 『開花貴婦人競』|A Contest of Elegant Ladies among the Cherry Blossoms (Kaika kifujin kisoi)
September 1887
Medium
Triptych of woodblock prints (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Image: 14 5/8 x 29 1/8 in. (37.1 x 74 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959
Accession Number
JP3343
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant triptych, created by Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu in September 1887, portrays a lively gathering of elegantly dressed women amid blooming cherry trees. Titled *A Contest of Elegant Ladies among the Cherry Blossoms*, the work captures a moment of refined social competition, with figures arranged across three connected sheets to suggest a sweeping outdoor scene. Produced as a nishiki-e woodblock print in ink and color on paper, it reflects the artist’s skill in depicting fashionable women during Japan’s rapid modernization. Chikanobu, active in the Meiji period (1868–1912), speciali...
About the Artist
Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu · 1838–1912
Toyohara Chikanobu, born Hashimoto Naoyoshi in 1838 in Echigo Province (modern Niigata Prefecture), emerged as one of the last great ukiyo-e masters during Japan's Meiji era. The son of a low-ranking samurai retainer to the Sakakibara clan, he trained initially in the Kanō school of painting before turning to ukiyo-e printmaking. He studied under a disciple of Keisai Eisen, then joined the studio ...