Disembarking from a Pleasure Boat on the Sumida River
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 14 13/16 in. (37.6 cm); W. 10 in. (25.4 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
JP1725
Tags
Art Historical Context
Torii Kiyonaga's *Disembarking from a Boat on the Sumida* captures a lively moment of leisure along one of Edo's (modern Tokyo's) most iconic waterways during Japan's Edo period (16151868). This wood print, from the vibrant ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—icts elegant women stepping gracefully from a boat, evoking the era's fascination with urban pleasures like river outings, cherry blossom viewing, and festivals. Kiyonaga, a leading figure in the Torii school, excelled in *bijin-ga* (images of beautiful women), rendering his figures with elongated, willowy forms and fluid p...
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...