An Oiran standing by a plum tree
mid 19th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1898.420
Tags
About this artwork
To 1898
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Kuniyuki Uawa's *An Oiran Standing by a Plum Tree* the elegance of the "floating world" through ukiyo-e artistry. Created in the mid-19th century this work belongs to the Utagawa, renowned for its masterful depictions of everyday pleasures, theater, and beauty. The subject, an oiran—a high-ranking courtesan—poses gracefully beside a blooming plum tree, embodying the refined allure of Yoshiwara's pleasure district. Plum blossoms, symbols of early spring and resilient beauty, add poetic depth, evoking renewal amid the transient joys of urban ...