Beauty at the Mimeguri Shrine
Edo period, Bunka era c. 1804/18
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink, colors and gold pigment on silk
Dimensions
70.5 × 26.5 cm (27 3/4 × 10 7/16 in.); Mounting: 158.1 × 37.2 cm (62 1/4 × 14 5/8 in.); Width including lower roller: W.: 42.6 cm (16 3/4 in.)
Classification
hanging scroll
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
32132
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan with *Beauty at the Mimeguri*, a delicate hanging scroll by Utag Toyohiro (1773–1825), during the Bunka era around 1804–1818. Toyohiro, a master the Utagawa school and mentor to Hiroshige, the elegance of a bijin—a celebrated beauty—poised at the historic Mimeuri Shrine in Edo (modern Tokyo). This artwork reflects the ukiyo-e tradition of "pictures of the floating world," blending urban sophistication with serene natural settings amid the prosperity of Japan's Tokugawa shogunate. Crafted on silk with ink, vibrant colors, and lavish gold pigment,...
About the Artist
Utagawa Toyohiro · 1763–1828
Utagawa Toyohiro (1763–1828) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist and painter who founded a major branch of the Utagawa school and is best remembered as the teacher of Utagawa Hiroshige, one of the greatest landscape print designers in Japanese art history. Born in Edo (present-day Tokyo), he studied under Utagawa Toyoharu, the founder of the Utagawa school, who was noted for introducing Western perspect...