Omori, from the series "Famous Places in the Eastern Capital (Toto meisho)"
c. 1832/33
Medium
Color woodblock print; oban
Dimensions
25.1 × 37.5 cm (9 7/8 × 14 3/4 in.)
Classification
woodblock print
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
9856
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th-century Japan with Utagawa Kuniyoshi's *Omori, from the series "F Places in the Eastern CapitalTōto meisho)"*, created around 1832–33. This color woodblock print, an oban-sized masterpiece measuring 25.1 × 37.5 cm, a scenic view of Omori, a celebrated spot along Edo Bay (modern-day Tokyo). Kuniyoshi, a master of the ukiyo-e tradition—"pictures of the floating world"—is renowned for his dynamic warrior prints and imaginative designs, but here he showcases his skill in landscape depiction, blending precise observation with poetic atmosphere. Woodblock printin...
About the Artist
Utagawa Kuniyoshi · 1797–1861
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797–1861) was born in Edo to the silk-dyer Yanagiya Kichiyemon, originally bearing the childhood name Yoshisaburō. From a young age, he assisted in his family's pattern design work, which sharpened his innate mastery of color and textile motifs that would permeate his later prints. At around twelve years old, his prodigious drawing skills drew the attention of the renowned Utag...