In Front of a Shop
dated 1780
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
Dimensions
Image: 49 3/16 × 19 5/8 in. (125 × 49.8 cm) Overall with mounting: 90 3/16 × 28 1/16 in. (229 cm) Overall with knobs: 90 3/16 × 30 3/16 in. (229 × 76.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Charles Stewart Smith Collection, Gift of Mrs. Charles Stewart Smith, Charles Stewart Smith Jr., and Howard Caswell Smith, in memory of Charles Stewart Smith, 1914
Accession Number
14.76.34
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
Art Historical Context
**In Front of a Shop**, created by the legendary Katsushika Hokusai 1780, offers a vivid glimpse into everyday life during Japan's Edo period (16151868). At just 20 years old, Hokusai—later famed for ukiyo-eblock prints like *The Wave*—produced this hanging scroll as an ink and color painting on silk. The scene captures a lively street moment outside a shop, featuring men, women, infants, dogs, embodying the ukiyo-e spirit of "pictures of the floating world" that celebrated urban pleasures and ordinary joys amid Edo's (modern Tokyo) growing merchant culture. Rendered on luxurious silk, the medium allowed Hokusai to layer delicate inks and vibrant colors, creating depth and texture suited for intimate display when unrolled. Hanging scrolls like this were prized in private Japanese homes, rolled for storage and hung seasonally, highlighting their role in personal connoisseurship rather than public exhibition. This early work showcases Hokusai's budding genius for dynamic composition and human observation, foreshadowing his mastery of genre scenes. Donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1914 from the Charles Stewart Smith Collection, it remains a treasure of Asian Art, inviting visitors to ponder the timeless charm of street life in historic Japan. (198 words)
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...