All Kinds of Household Items (Chodo zukushi), from the series "Famous Scenes from Japanese Puppet Plays (Yamato irotake)"
c. 1705/06
Medium
Woodblock print; oban, sumizuri-e
Dimensions
27.3 × 39.1 cm (10 3/4 × 15 7/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
19612
Art Historical Context
Okumura Masanobu's *All Kinds of Household Items (Chodo zukushi)*, created around 1705/06, is a captivating early woodblock print from the Edo-period series *Famous Scenes from Japanese Puppet Plays (Yamato irotake)*. Printed in the oban format (27.3 × 39.1 cm), this sumizuri-e—a striking monochrome technique using black ink on paper—showcases Masanobu's mastery of line work and composition. As one of the pioneering ukiyo-e artists in early 18th-century Japan, he bridged traditional illustration with the emerging floating-world aesthetic, capturing everyday life with wit and precision. The pr...
About the Artist
Okumura Masanobu · 1686–1764
Japanese, 1686–1764