A Young Woman Watching Frogs (parody of Ono no Tôfû)
c. 1760
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban, benizuri-e
Dimensions
42.9 × 29.5 cm (16 7/8 × 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
6819
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of 18th-century Edo Japan, Torii Kiyomitsu I's *A Young Woman Watching Frogsparody of Ono noôfû)*, created around 1760, captures the playful spirit of ukiyo woodblock prints. This *oban* format work (a generous 42.9 × 29.5 cm) depicts a graceful young woman intently observing frogs, a whimsical nod to the legendary Heian-era calligrapher Ono no Tôfû. Tôfû famously watched a frog leap a gate to master a fluid brushstroke in his calligraphy; here, Kiyomitsu humorously reimagines the scene with a fashionable beauty, subverting scholarly masculinity for lighthearted *bijin-ga*...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyomitsu I · 1735–1785
Japanese, 1735–1785