Dressing Room for Musicians at a Theater (Shitakubeya)
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm); W. 21 7/8 in. (55.6 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
JP1857
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the bustling backstage world of Edo-period with Katsushika Hokusai's *Dressing Room for Musicians a Theater (Shitakeya)*, a vibrant woodblock print from the Museum of Art's H. O. Havemeyer Collection. This intimate scene captures male musicians preparing amid an array of traditional instruments, offering a rare glimpse into the lively underbelly of theater life during Japan's Edo period (1615–1868). Hokusai, the legendary ukiyo-e master famous for *The Great Wave off Kanagawa masterfully renders the "floating world" of everyday pleasures, blending humor and humanity in this snapshot ...
About the Artist
Katsushika Hokusai · 1760–1849
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) stands as one of history's most influential artists, a Japanese master who revolutionized the ukiyo-e woodblock print tradition and profoundly shaped Western art. Born in the Katsushika district of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to an artisan family, Hokusai lived through nearly nine decades of extraordinary creative evolution, adopting over thirty different artistic names t...