Chiyoda Castle (Album of Men)
Medium
Triptych of woodblock prints; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
L. (page) 13 7/8 in. (35.2 cm); W. (page) 9 1/4 in. (23.4 cm); thickness of album 1 9/16 in. (4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Meiji period (1868–1912)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. W. Walton Butterworth, 1979
Accession Number
JP3583
Tags
Art Historical Context
Created during Japan’s Meiji period (1868–1912), this triptych of woodblock prints by Yōshū Chikanobu captures a tranquil scene associated with Chiyoda Castle, the historic seat of the Tokugawa shoguns in Tokyo. Rendered in ink and color on paper, the work belongs to the artist’s “Album of Men” series, which presents male figures engaged in everyday activities amid the castle’s surrounding landscape. The tags suggest a peaceful setting of houses, trees, boats, and fishing, reflecting the enduring appeal of traditional Japanese scenery even as the nation modernized. Chikanobu, a leading ukiyo-...
About the Artist
Yōshū (Hashimoto) Chikanobu · 1838–1912
Toyohara Chikanobu, born Hashimoto Naoyoshi in 1838 in Echigo Province (modern Niigata Prefecture), emerged as one of the last great ukiyo-e masters during Japan's Meiji era. The son of a low-ranking samurai retainer to the Sakakibara clan, he trained initially in the Kanō school of painting before turning to ukiyo-e printmaking. He studied under a disciple of Keisai Eisen, then joined the studio ...