Boys Playing with a Basin of Fish and Turtles
early 19th century
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm); W. 14 3/4 in. (37.5 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
JP1715
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the vibrant world of Edo-period Japan (1615–1868), Kitao Shigemasa's *Boys Playing with a Basin of Fish and Turtles* captures a of pure childhood delight. This early 19th-century woodblock print young boys gleefully interacting with live fish and turtles in a basin, their faces alive with wonder and mischief. Shigemasa, a master ukiyo-e—the "pictures of the floating world"—excelled in portraying everyday scenes with a keen eye for human emotion and natural detail, blending humor and tenderness in this intimate domestic tableau. Crafted as a color woodblock print on paper (measuring 8⅜ × 14...
About the Artist
Kitao Shigemasa · 1739–1820
Kitao Shigemasa (1739–1820), born in the bustling Nihonbashi district of Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's Edo period. The eldest son of the bookseller Suharaya Mohei—from a lineage of publishers—Shigemasa, originally named Kitabatake Tarōkichi, was immersed in the world of printing from youth. Largely self-taught, he later studied under t...