Ferry boat on the Sumida River, illustration for the Capital Shell (Miyako-gai), from the series "A Matching Game with Genroku-period Poem Shells (Genroku kasen kai awase)"
Medium
Color woodblock print; shikishiban, surimono
Dimensions
20.2 × 18 cm (8 × 7 1/8 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
88642
Rights
Public Domain
Art Historical Context
Katsushika Hokus, the legendary Japanese artist renowned for his ukiyo-e woodblock prints, created *Ferry Boat on the Sumida River, illustration the Capital Shell (Mako-gai)* in 1821. This color woodblock print, measuring just 20.2 × 18 cm in the square shikishiban format depicts a lively ferry scene on Tokyo's (then Edo's) vital Sumida River. Passengers crowd the boat amid rippling waters and distant bridges, capturing the everyday pulse of urban life during Japan's Edo period (1603–1868). As a *surimono*—a deluxe, privately commissioned print often produced for New Year's greetings or poetry circles—this work belongs to Hokusai's series *A Matching Game with Genroku-period Poem Shells (Genroku kasen kai awase)*. It illustrates a poem for the "Capital Shell" in the traditional *kai awase* game, where players match illustrated clam shells bearing waka poems from the culturally vibrant Genroku era (1688–1704). Surimono like this highlight elite craftsmanship, with embossing, mica flecks, and precise color registration achieved through collaborative carving and printing techniques. Hokusai's mastery shines in the dynamic composition and vivid blues-greens evoking the river's flow, blending realism with poetic elegance. Held in the Art Institute of Chicago's Arts of Asia collection, it offers a window into ukiyo-e's role in democratizing art, preserving fleeting moments of 19th-century Japan for global audiences today.
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...