Nippori Keinai Ebisu-Daikoku
ca. 1793
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
H. 9 5/8 in. (24.4 cm); W. 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
Japan · Edo period (1615–1868)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Estate of Samuel Isham, 1914
Accession Number
JP930
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant woodblock print by Torii Kiyonaga captures a lively moment at a tea house near Nippori in Edo-period Japan. Created around 1793, the work belongs to the ukiyo-e tradition, which celebrated the fleeting pleasures of urban life—beautiful women, seasonal outings, and social gatherings. Kiyonaga, a leading artist of the time, specialized in *bijin-ga*, or pictures of graceful women, and here he portrays figures enjoying drinks in a relaxed outdoor setting, evoking the cheerful atmosphere of Edo’s popular entertainment districts. The title referencesisu and Daikoku, two of the Seven L...
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...