Chasing Fireflies
c. 1761
Medium
Color woodblock print; hashira-e, benizuri-e
Dimensions
71.4 × 9.8 cm (28 1/8 × 3 7/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
23267
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyomitsu I's *Chasing Fireflies* (c. 1761) captures the whimsical joy of a summer evening in Edo-period Japan (modern-day Tokyo). As a master of the Torii school, Kiyomitsu specialized in ukiyo-e—"pictures of the floating world"—icting everyday pleasures, theater, and beauty. This charming scene likely shows children or young women playfully pursuing glowing fireflies, evoking for fleeting seasonal moments, a beloved motif in Japanese art symbolizing the transience of life. Printed as a *hashira-e* (pillar print), its tall, narrow format—71.4 × 9.8 cm—was designed to hang on wooden pil...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyomitsu I · 1735–1785
Japanese, 1735–1785