Descending Geese at Katada (Katada rakugan), from the series "Fashionable Eight Views of Omi (Furyu Omi hakkei)"
c. 1814/17
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
38.1 × 25.9 cm (15 × 10 3/16 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
33048
Art Historical Context
In the early 19th century, Japan's vibrant Edo period, Kikukawa Eizan crafted *Descending Geese at Katada (Katada rakugan)* as part of his series *Fashionable Eight Views of Omi (Furyu Omi hakkei)*, around 1814–17. This color woodblock print reimagines the classic "Eight Views of Omi"—poetic landscapes around Lake Biwa in Omi Province—through a stylish, contemporary lens. Eizan, a master of ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world), infused these scenes with elegance, often featuring graceful figures amid nature's beauty, blending timeless scenery with fashionable motifs. Printed in the large ...
About the Artist
Kikukawa Eizan · 1787–1867
Kikukawa Eizan (1787–1867), born Toshinobu Ōmiya in Edo (modern Tokyo), emerged as a pivotal figure in ukiyo-e woodblock printing during Japan's late Edo period. He began his training under his father, Eiji Kikugawa, a minor painter and fan maker in the Kanō school tradition, before advancing to study with Suzuki Nanrei of the Shijō school and the ukiyo-e artist Totoya Hokkei, a pupil of Katsushik...