Cherry Blossom Viewing at Asuka Hill
c. 1787
Medium
Color woodblock print; center sheet of oban triptych
Dimensions
38.1 × 24.5 cm (15 × 9 11/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
128173
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyonaga's *Cherry Blossom Viewing at As Hill* (c. 1787) captures the timeless Japanese tradition of *hanami*, or cherry blossom viewing, during the Edo period. As the central sheet of an *oban* triptych—a large-format woodblock print series—this vibrant scene likely unfolds across three panels to create a panoramic tableau of elegant figures reveling amid blooming sakura at Asuka Hill. Kaga, a master of Torii school and ukiyo-e ("pictures of the floating world"), specialized in *bijin-ga*—depictions of beautiful women—blending graceful courtesans and townsfolk in leisurely pursuits that...
About the Artist
Torii Kiyonaga · 1752–1815
Torii Kiyonaga, born Sekiguchi Shinsuke in 1752 in Uraga, Sagami Province, was the son of an Edo bookseller who owned tenements near a bustling fish market. At age 14 in 1765, he began his apprenticeship under Torii Kiyomitsu, the third-generation head of the prestigious Torii school of ukiyo-e, renowned for kabuki theater illustrations and signage. Adopted into the Torii family, Kiyonaga succeede...