Autumn at Asakusa; Viewing cherry blossoms at Ueno Park
Hishikawa Moronobu è±å·å¸«å®£ (1618-1694)
17th century
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1906.266-267
Tags
Charles Lang Freer collectionEdo period (1615 - 1868)JapanJapanese Artautumnboatcherry blossomhorsepalanquintemple
About this artwork
In March 1657 a fire destroyed much of the city of Edo (Tokyo). More than one hundred thousand people perished in the blaze or in the snowstorm that immediately followed. Fashions distinctive to the late seventeenth century are clearly evident among the nearly four hundred figures populating the expanse of this painting. Thus, these screens, painted in the artist's final years, should be understood as Moronobu's celebration of the seasonal pleasures of a resurrected and vital metropolis.